SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Travis Head recently reminisced about his time with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2016, highlighting the surreal experience of sharing the dressing room with Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and AB de Villiers.
During his stint with RCB in IPL 2016 and 2017, Head didn’t receive many opportunities, featuring in only 10 matches across two seasons. Despite this, he managed to score 205 runs with a top score of 75*. He didn’t return to the team until the 2024 edition.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, the left-hander revealed that he struggled with his own identity within the team filled with star players. He also noted that each player had their own well-defined recipe for success.
“Walking into that dressing room was crazy. I was young and it feels like a long time ago. And I probably didn’t understand myself enough around off-field stuff or even game stuff and I was watching how AB went about and Gayle went about.”
“Every guy went differently and every guy had certain things that they excelled at or were great at. AB’s understanding of the game was incredible. Virat’s preparation was second to none. And the way Chris went out and performed on match day was just outrageous. So each guy had those things that I sort of drew upon and understand a blueprint.”
In the current IPL season, Travis Head emerged as one of the most sought-after players prior to the 2024 auction. He was acquired by the SunRisers Hyderabad for ₹6.8 crores and has since scored more than 500 runs.
“I certainly relied on that experience”- Travis Head
While the Australian batsman now has more confidence in his methods and abilities, he believes that his early years in the IPL served as a platform for his success. He further remarked:
“I just feel like there’s a lot more experience and there’s a lot more understanding around my game and there’s probably a lot more belief around what I can achieve or what I can do.”
“I don’t sort of try, there’s always doubts and there’s always things you go through in mind I guess. Seven or eight years has passed, (I’ve) achieved a few things in international cricket you can draw back on.”
“So yeah back then I didn’t have I guess the blueprint or the runs behind me but I feel like I still had some really good performances when I was here last time and I definitely drew back on them by that experience. But that whole IPL all those two years with RCB was just a bit of a whirlwind.”
Travis Head has been instrumental in driving SunRisers Hyderabad to the playoffs this season.
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