New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Amongst young Indian batters, Abhishek Sharma has been in great striking form to be one of the key contributors in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s good run in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 currently. But Brian Lara, the franchise’s former head coach, wishes to see Abhishek play big knocks and even score the first century of the ongoing season.

Abhishek was named Player of the Tournament in Punjab’s winning the 2023/24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, amassing 485 runs in 10 innings at an average of 48.50 and strike-rate of 192.46. He also hit two centuries and three fifties, while slamming 35 fours and 39 sixes. So far in IPL 2024, Abhishek has continued in the same vein for SRH, making 161 runs in four innings at an average of 40.25 and strike-rate of 217.56, including hitting 12 fours and 15 sixes.

Two of those knocks -- a whirlwind 16-ball fifty against Mumbai Indians and a 12-ball 37 against Chennai Super Kings -- fetched him Player of the Match awards, where Abhishek acknowledged the role Lara had in his growth as a left-handed batter. “The base of his success so far has been due to his natural ability. He’s someone who has a huge amount of ability. But I am still slightly disappointed because I believe he’s had great starts and he needs to carry on,” he said.

“I would love to see him score the first IPL hundred of this season and he had the opportunities to do so, but he didn’t make it. In the two years I coached him at SRH (in 2022 and 2023), I worked more on his mental side, and I feel his mental strength needs to be a little bit better.”

“I am seeing a little bit of success in that area. But again, he needs to score hundreds. People only recognise and remember you when you score big runs and I hope he can do that soon,” said Lara, the legendary West Indies batter, while replying to a question from IANS in the ‘Star Sports Press Room’ show, ahead of SRH’s match against Punjab Kings happening on Tuesday.

All eyes will later be on the high-octane clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening and Lara thinks the Hardik Pandya-led side, who got off the mark with a 29-run win over Delhi Capitals on Sunday, have the edge over Faf du Plessis & Co. “MI is getting into a little bit of form with a recent victory. It was great to see Romario Shepherd, the West Indian, do well. I think their timing was very well. RCB is facing more of a structural problem, their form is okay. But I don't think that they have the right team out in the middle.”

“I don't think that they have the right batting order. MI knows their batting order. SKY played a bit out of form; he hasn’t scored any runs. I think they're in a better position to really press this rivalry into their favour,” he said.

Lara also thinks RCB needs to have more trust in its in-form Indian players like the big-hitting Mahipal Lomror, who was surprisingly left out of the playing eleven in Saturday’s clash against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, which they lost by six wickets despite an unbeaten 113 by Virat Kohli. “RCB is still searching to find what their best form is, their best team. And a player like Mahipal Lomror, who I think has done everything asked of him, he came as an impact player, done well and still did not play in the match against the Rajasthan Royals. I think they should just shift their attention a lot more to the local talent,” he said.

“A lot of emphasis is placed on the international talent and what they can do and how many matches they can win for RCB. Of course, you’ve got Virat Kohli, but I think they've truly got good local talent, and you cannot win an IPL trophy without performances from the local stars. I’d like to see them included more in critical moments of the game,” he added.

Ambati Rayudu, the former India batter and a six-time IPL winner, also asked for a struggling Glenn Maxwell to bat in a finishing role alongside Dinesh Karthik to find form. “RCB need to play with a longer batting line-up, dividing their best names proportionately. You cannot have all your so-called best players at the top of the order and leave all the pressure situations for the young boys.”

“You need to phase it out, and definitely Glenn Maxwell needs to come at No. 6 or No. 7 and finish games along with Dinesh Karthik. I think that will serve them well going ahead into the season.”