Abhishek, who was struggling for runs in India's triumphant World Cup campaign, has been named vice- captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will commence on March 28.

“He’s 25, not 20 anymore. So, this is definitely the phase where he has to start taking more responsibility. There will be media pressure and people asking him to become more consistent. We know he was a little inconsistent during the T20 World Cup, which was disappointing. He had a good finish in the final, but otherwise, it was a quiet tournament for him.

De Villiers further pointed out that while Abhishek has already shown his talent, the next step is about maturity and consistency. He stressed that expectations will only grow, and handling them mentally will be key to success in IPL 2026.

"He had an unbelievable IPL 2025, scoring close to a 200 strike-rate and averaging in the 30s, which is good for an opening batter scoring over 400 runs in the tournament, but it could have been better. Once again, that word consistency comes to mind. It’s a personal challenge he will have to overcome mentally.

"Being the number one international T20I batter in the world comes with expectation, and that is the most dangerous word in cricket, when you feel like the whole world is closing in on you, and it’s up to him to fight those mental battles throughout this coming season,” de Villiers added.

De Villiers also advised Abhishek to be smarter in reading situations instead of always attacking. Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star highlighted the importance of adapting to difficult bowlers and trusting his own plan, which could help him become more consistent.

“The answer to his success, and to the longevity of his career and consistency, lies in him understanding and respecting different match-ups. A bowler comes on, suppose it’s Bumrah, and the game is on the line. How do you handle that? Do you attack him, or do you respect it and get to the other end? That is where you have to be true to yourself as a batter. You have to feel, ‘There’s a threat here, I’m not comfortable, I’m not going to give it away. I’ll give it a couple of minutes and see if something else comes up.' I think that is the only missing link in his game still," De Villiers noted.

De Villiers also advised Abhishek to be smarter in reading situations instead of always attacking. Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star highlighted the importance of adapting to difficult bowlers and trusting his own plan, which could help him become more consistent.

Abhishek will open the innings for SRH with Australian great Travis Head when they face the defending champions RCB in the tournament opener on March 28 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.