Johannesburg, May 11 -- Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who is now the SA20 League Commissioner, has backed Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) Abhishek Sharma to claim the Orange Cap over his teammate Heinrich Klaasen at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.

Klaasen currently leads the tournament's run-scoring list with 494 runs at an average of 54.88, ahead of Abhishek's 475-run tally at an average of 47.50.

However, Smith feels that due to Abhishek opening the batting for SRH and Klaasen playing the role of a middle-order batter, the pendulum will eventually swing towards the dynamic left-hander, as per a release from the SA20.

He said openers generally have more time at the crease, making it easier to recover from ...