Former Indian captain and commentator Kris Srikkanth has opened up on the reports of Abhishek Sharma leaving the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) franchise ahead of the IPL 2027 mini-auction.
According to reports, Sharma wasn’t happy with Ishan Kishan getting the captaincy for the forthcoming IPL 2027 season, as Pat Cummins is having a packed international calendar next year.
“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,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“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,” he added.
Further, Srikkanth urged the opening batter to stay with the franchise, considering the favourable batting tracks in Hyderabad. In the IPL 2026 season, Sharma scored 563 runs at an average of 40.21 and a strike rate of 204.72.
“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
“Even if Kishan gets captaincy, Abhishek will be the senior-most as a player. So why leave when you are well settled as the senior-most player in a team? Whatever he says will be listened to also in SRH,” he concluded.
