"Will drive the motorcycle" - Basit Ali's Sholay analogy backs Abhishek Sharma to outshine Travis Head in IPL 2025

Former Pakistan cricketer Basti Ali expects India's Abhishek Sharma to outshine Australia's Travis Head in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The two swashbuckling batters are likely to continue opening the batting for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2025.

Basit gave an analogy of the cult classic Bollywood film 'Sholay' to suggest that Abhishek will be the aggressor for SRH in IPL 2025, with Head playing the second fiddle. Speaking in a video shared on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-expert stated (from 4:53):

"In the last IPL, Travis Head scored a lot of runs. Abhishek Sharma also supported him. It was like how in Sholay, the great Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra sat together on a motorcycle. Dharmendra sahab was driving the motorcycle. Now, Abhishek will drive the motorcycle and will tell Travis Head to sit behind."

It is worth mentioning that Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma's batting exploits at the top of the order helped SRH secure a place in the final. Head was the team's highest run-getter, scoring 567 runs across 15 innings at a strike rate of 191.55.

Abhishek was SRH's second-highest run-getter, amassing 484 runs from 16 innings. His runs came at a fantastic strike rate of 204.21. The Hyderabad-based side finished as the runner-up following a heartbreaking eight-wicket defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma looked in spectacular form in India's recently concluded five-match home T20I series against England. The southpaw scored 135 runs off just 54 balls in the fifth fixture, registering the highest individual score for India in men's T20Is.

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"Did not forget his elders" - Basit Ali impressed by Abhishek Sharma's post-match presentation interview after IND vs ENG 2025 5th T20I

Basit Ali praised Abhishek Sharma for acknowledging the contribution of his mentor Yuvraj Singh in the post-match presentation of the fifth T20I. He also lauded the youngster for thanking head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

The 54-year-old suggested that the Indian youngsters giving utmost respect to the sport has played a big role in their success. Basit said in the aforementioned video (from 1:13):

"Abhishek did not forget his elders. The way he spoke about Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav, are the things which take players upwards. These kids have given a lot of respect to cricket, and that is why God is making them do well."

Abhishek Sharma was the leading run-getter in the five-match T20I series. He chalked up 279 runs from five innings at a strike rate of 219.68.