Dashing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opening batter Abhishek Sharma is reportedly seeking to move away from the Hyderabad-based franchise ahead of the IPL 2027 retention deadline, which is expected to be in mid-November this year.
According to a report on TOI, IPL franchises Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings are aiming to rope in the attacking opener. Further, the report mentioned that the Southpaw has been unhappy after the franchise decided to hand the captaincy to Ishan Kishan.
“It’s not a secret anymore that Abhishek Sharma is unhappy at SRH since the captaincy went to Ishan Kishan. He has been with the franchise for a long time and clearly had captaincy ambitions. Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans, and Punjab Kings were being explored as potential destinations, and we can’t rule out Delhi Capitals either, since his mentor Yuvraj Singh is part of the set-up now,” TOI quoted their source as saying.
It’s important to note that Kishan served as a stand-in captain for SRH during the IPL 2026 season before the actual skipper Pat Cummins returned from injury to assume his captaincy duties. However, Kishan is expected to emerge as the franchise’s full-time captain for the next season, with Abhishek becoming his deputy.
“There are not many captaincy opportunities right now. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are two options, but most other teams appear sorted. So even if SRH and Abhishek agree to part ways, the big question remains: where to? And how will SRH position itself even if they agree? A cash deal? Player trade? Lots of factors,” the source added.
However, the SRH CEO, K Shanmugam, has brushed aside the rumours and termed them “not true”. Abhishek scored 475 runs in 11 innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the IPL 2026 season.
