At 23 years of age, Abhishek’s evolution as a T20 enforcer has gathered steam with his unabashed brand of batting which has already fetched him 257 runs this season.And that stems from watching Head wield his bat with aplomb in the last one year. He makes no effort to hide that he is smitten by Head’s approach.
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“I’ve been telling him that I’ve been a really big fan of his from day one because I’ve been following him for the last year. All the Punjab boys (his teammates) know I admire Travis for the way he bats in all three formats. And he is in our team and we are the lucky ones,” Abhishek said after SRH’s resounding win over Delhi Capitals on Saturday night.
The bromance between the two is obvious the way they interact at the centre square. But the relationship is beyond just batting together in a match.
“We’ve been talking a lot off the field. It’s joyful to watch him bat. Our chats are helping. He’s someone I’m looking forward to batting with for the entire season. It’s always great that there’s no pressure at the other end. The team management and captain have been clear about us going out and expressing ourselves,” Abhishek claimed.
And just like that, Head has become Abhishek’s go-to man. Abhishek’s graduation to IPL-level cricket has been largely based on his allround skills which include steady left-arm spin. The ‘impact player’ rule in the IPL hasn’t allowed him to spread his wings entirely as a cricketer.
“Because of this impact player, there’s always an extra bowler or a batter. So, this is going to happen. This happened even last year,” said Abhishek.
This is where he has all the right to feel that he is being robbed of the opportunity to push his case for a spot in the Indian team with the T20 World Cup coming up soon after the IPL. This is where Head helped him clear his head.
“I think I spoke to Travis about all these things. I shared a lot of things with him. I’m very much clear with my mindset and goal,” Abhishek said.
“Everybody knows that I can bowl. I should be ready whenever I’m called. I know somehow I will get the chance and I should be ready for that,” he added.
This clarity has helped Abhishek prepare well for this IPL. Like, he is particular about facing similar bowlers in the nets as his opponents. That’s how he took down Kuldeep Yadav on Saturday. He claims he is clear that he would attack the spinners irrespective of the name at the top of the run-up and that helps ease the pressure off Head. On current form, it looks like Abhishek is in control of his game.