Former India captain Kris Srikkanth has criticised reports surrounding Abhishek Sharma’s future with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of IPL 2027. The reports suggest that Abhishek is unhappy with the franchise’s decision to hand the captaincy to Ishan Kishan. It has been reported that Ishan Kishan could lead SRH in the absence of Pat Cummins, who could miss IPL 2027 due to a packed International calendar.
According to reports, Abhishek is considering leaving SRH as he is not being considered for the leadership role. He has been associated with the franchise since 2019 and reportedly had ambitions of captaining the team.
However, Srikkanth believes captaincy cannot be handed to a player simply because he wants the role.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “Where can he go? He doesn’t have a spot anywhere else to captain. He is a brand now because of SRH only. Ishan Kishan is proven material with consistency. So he has to be the captain, as he has done brilliantly as captain. Captaincy cannot just be given like a laddu. A player has to prove himself as captaincy material. Kishan has captained his state and zone, and won titles.”
“Abhishek Sharma doesn’t have many captaincy opportunities elsewhere also. Maybe MI might look at him in the future to replace Rohit Sharma as opener, but not for captaincy. There is no doubt that he’ll fit into any team as a player, as he’s one of the best openers in world cricket today.”
Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan led Jharkhand to glory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the previous season. The left-hander scored 517 runs in 10 matches of the domestic Twenty20 tournament. He also led East Zone to triumph in the Duleep Trophy after scoring 270 runs in the final.
The 1983 World Cup-winning player urged Abhishek not to do anything foolish by leaving the Orange Army.
“I’ll advise Abhishek not to do something foolish by leaving SRH. If he goes elsewhere, especially LSG, he’ll get taken for a ride. He should remain quiet and enjoy playing with SRH. The Hyderabad track is a belter, tailor-made for you. There is a good chance he’ll struggle if he goes elsewhere,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Sharma scored an impressive knock of 69 runs off 30 balls in the third T20I against the West Indies at Indore.
