What goes into a Hyderabadi biryani, according to Abhishek Sharma?
ESPNcricinfo staff
31-Mar-2025
Abhishek Sharma: now an expert on all things Hyderabadi • Associated Press
We're always ready to discuss anything biryani and stir up debate about what goes into it - we've divided the cricket fraternity into those who favour potatoes in biryani and those who don't - so of course we're all agog to hear what Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Abhishek Sharma believes are the three key ingredients in a biryani.
"I've never made biryani, but I love to eat it," Abhishek says. "There's rice in it, fried onions, and cinnamon, spices that Hyderabad is famous for." We'd have picked the protein of choice first, but all these are essential, of course.
Abhishek is playing his seventh season with Sunrisers, so naturally he was asked to pick other Hyderbad favourites, starting with his his top three cricketers: VVS Laxman, Mohammed Siraj and Ambati Rayudu.
He also talks about his top three Telugu film actors, starting with Allu Arjun. The actor's beard-stroking gesture from the movie Pushpa is a common wicket-taking celebration among cricketers these days. But Abhishek also includes Mahesh Babu and Rana Daggubati among his favourites, but he missed another famous name, according to us.
Abhishek came into IPL 2025 in good form, having scored a hundred in a T20I against England in February. In SRH's first game this season, against Rajasthan Royals, he scored 24 off 11 balls, which included three consecutive fours off Fazalhaq Farooqi. In Sunrisers' runners-up finish in the 2024 IPL, Abhishek scored 484 runs at a strike rate of 204.2 in 16 games.