"At what stage, do you say it's not lack of runs but lack of form?" - Aakash Chopra on Abhishek Sharma's lean run after SRH's IPL 2025 loss vs KKR
Former India player Aakash Chopra has criticized the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) batting in their IPL 2025 loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He wondered whether Abhishek Sharma is not just short of runs but lacks form.
KKR set SRH a 201-run target in Match 15 of IPL 2025 in Kolkata on Thursday, April 3. Abhishek managed only two runs off six deliveries in the chase as the visitors were bowled out for 120, losing the game by 80 runs.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener questioned SRH's batting approach. Chopra noted that Abhishek Sharma hasn't been at his best and Nitish Kumar Reddy (19 off 15) has let the team down with his shot selection.
"Naam bade, darshan chhote (big names but hardly any performance). It seems like that if we have a look at their batting order. They won't change their playing style at all. They play like that continuously. 190 once, then 163, and if your graph is going downwards and you are losing wickets consistently in the powerplay, you need to ask a question where you are going," he said (16:00).
"I am unable to understand Nitish Kumar Reddy's shots. Ishan Kishan scored runs in the first match, but then three low scores. Abhishek Sharma is not looking the same. He is playing shots, but at what stage, do you say it's not lack of runs but lack of form?" Chopra added.
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Abhishek has endured three successive failures after smashing 24 runs off 11 deliveries in SRH's IPL 2025 opener against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
"You were looking good, then you got run out once, then you didn't score runs, and got out once more. Suddenly, four innings have passed, and you haven't scored runs. Then you start asking questions as to what is happening," Chopra observed.
However, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Abhishek Sharma had an excuse to bat aggressively at the start of the innings in Thursday's game as SRH were chasing a mammoth total. On the flip side, he noted that Nitish Kumar Reddy was dismissed once more while attempting a big shot despite the loss of early wickets.
"That is absolutely bizarre" - Aakash Chopra on SRH opener Travis Head's poor record in big run chases
![Travis Head scored four runs off two deliveries in SRH's IPL 2025 loss to KKR. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/3d1ff-17437405352708-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Travis Head continued his poor record in big run chases in the SunRisers Hyderabad's IPL 2025 loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders.
"One thing got highlighted. Travis Head hasn't scored runs against KKR. He hasn't scored runs against Mitchell Starc. He hasn't scored runs in 200-plus chases, and that is absolutely bizarre," he said.
"If you have an average not even of 10, you don't play even a single good knock and don't become the differentiator in the match, it will have to be said that he is the headmaster, but not in a run chase," the analyst added.
To conclude, Aakash Chopra wondered whether SRH should choose to bat first if Pat Cummins wins the toss. He noted that virtually all their batters succumb under pressure in big run chases, with the 'Bazooka' Travis Head becoming a 'toy gun'.