IPL Auction 2025: SRH star Abhishek Sharma officially appointed as captain

The 24-year-old India National Cricket Team, Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma, has been handed the responsibility to lead his team in the upcoming T20 competition.

Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has announced Abhishek Sharma as the skipper of the team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024.

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PCA selects strong squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024

The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has picked a really strong squad for the upcoming edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Team Punjab will enter the competition as defending champions, having won the previous edition.

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023 final in Mohali on November 6, Punjab posted a huge total of 223/4 on the board despite Abhishek bagging a golden duck as Anmolpreet Singh (113 ) and Nehal Wadhera (61) played exceptional knocks.

With the ball, the left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh led from the front with his 4-wicket haul and bundled out Baroda for 203/7, registering a 20-run win and clinching the title. Meanwhile, they will lock horns with Team Bengal in their SMAT 2024 opener in Rajkot on Saturday, November 23.

Team Punjab will be keen to defend the title as they have got some extremely talented players in the squad. Other than Abhishek, the team consists of stars like Prabsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Sanvir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and Arshdeep Singh.

Punjab Squad For Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024

Abhishek Sharma (C), Prabsimran Singh (WK), Anmolpreet Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Sanvir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Salil Arora, Mayank Markande ,Jassinder Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Sohraab Dhaliwal, Ashwani Kumar, Naman Dhir, Harnoor Singh Pannu

PUNJAB SQUAD SMAT
ABHISHEK SHARMA (C)
PRABSIMRAN SINGH (WK)
ANMOLPREET SINGH
NEHAL WADHERA
SANVIR SINGH
RAMANDEEP SINGH
SALIL ARORA
MAYANK MARKANDE
JASSINDER SINGH ARSHDEEP SINGH
BALTEJ SINGH
GURNOOR BRAR HARPREET BRAR
SOHRAAB DHALIWAL
ASHWANI KUMAR
NAMAN DHIR
HARNOOR SINGH PANNU pic.twitter.com/pbiRMSp0xM

— Punjab Cricket Association (@pcacricket) November 21, 2024

Abhishek Sharma retained by SRH ahead of IPL Auction 2025

The star all-rounder Abhishek was one of the five players retained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction.

He had a breakthrough season in IPL 2024 as in 16 matches; he blasted 484 runs at an average of 32.26 and a strike rate of 204.21 to play a key role in the Sunrisers Hyderabad making it to the final.

The opening duo that Abhishek formed with Travis Head terrorized opponents as the batters played ultra-aggressive cricket and demolished the bowling attacks.

His heroics for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) also helped him get his India debut cap and so far he has featured in 12 T20I matches. In those matches, he has slammed 256 runs at an average of 23.27 and a strike rate of 171.81, with one century.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma has been retained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 14 crore. Other than him, Sunrisers Hyderabad have retained Heinrich Klaasen (INR 23 crore), Pat Cummins (INR 18 crore), Travis Head (INR 14 crore), and Nitish Reddy (INR 6 crore).

Notably, the South Africa National Cricket Team explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen became the most expensive player retained in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).