Australia’s menacing batter Travis Head wants his Sunrisers Hyderabad opening partner Abhishek Sharma to bowl at him in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. During a rapidfire round, Head was asked a series of questions. One of the questions was the bowler who he is looking forward to battle with. He picked Abhishek who is one of the options Suryakumar Yadav has in the lineup but doesn’t bowl too often.
So far, Abhishek has bowled 30.3 overs from 39 T20Is. The left-arm spinner has claimed six wickets at an average of 37.33. His economy rate is 8.78 runs per over. However, considering how match-ups play a crucial role in T20 cricket, Abhishek may not bowl to a left-handed batter. The other left-arm finger spinner in the side is Axar Patel. If India face Australia going further in the tournament, Suryakumar may opt for a different strategy.
Head was also asked his favourite shot. He picked the pull shot he often plays across formats. When asked about his T20 superpower, he replied, "that I get to bat in the powerplay (overs)".
Head picked his Australian teammate Tim David as the bowler he would not like to face. He hopes he can add the switch hit to his arsenal. Asked to describe his T20 game in one word, he simply said “madness”.
Head’s T20I form
Head hasn't been in the best of forms in T20Is of late. In the bilateral series against Pakistan, he scored 27 runs from two innings. He did not get to bat or bowl against the Netherlands in the warm-up game as it was abandoned due to rain.
Australia vs Ireland T20Is head-to-head
The 32-year-old will be seen in action as Australia open their campaign against Ireland at Colombo's R.Premadasa Stadium on February 11. This will be the first time he will against Ireland in T20Is.
So far, there have been only two T20Is between Ireland and Afghanistan. The first clash was in T20 World Cup 2012. Australia beat Ireland by seven wickets in Colombo, the same venue where they will clash in this edition. In 2022, hosts Australia beat Ireland by 42 runs.