2 min readUpdated: Mar 14, 2026 07:28 PM IST
Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have played a crucial role in the brand of cricket the franchise has played in the last couple of seasons. Although last year was not as fruitful as it was in 2024, when the side reached the final, the intent with which they batted set the benchmark for the other sides on how to approach the powerplay. Lauding the pairing, former Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara said they are the most destructive pairing up top.
“In the last couple of seasons, what we have seen from the openers of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, I can certainly say they are one of the most destructive opening pairs in IPL history,” Pujara said speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Out of the Park’.
“Both are batters who know how to attack from ball one. SRH has consistently crossed the 250-run mark in the last couple of seasons thanks to them. No other team in the IPL has done that consistently. That is only because of the two openers. Smashing the ball all over the park and doing it on a regular basis is what makes them special. When we talk about aggressive opening pairs in the IPL, the pair of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli comes to mind. But this duo of Head and Abhishek is even more destructive. No bowler wants to run in and bowl against an opening pair like Abhishek and Head,” Pujara further said.
“SRH are a very destructive side and score a lot of runs when they play at home in Hyderabad. But away from home, their record is very poor. When they play away matches, they fail to maintain their destructive batting intent. That is because all the teams know that SRH rely on their batting power to set big totals. Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen are their main batters. Once they get dismissed, SRH struggle to get going. That is where the opposition teams take advantage and prevent them from putting up big totals. That is something they will have to work on,” he added.
