Trouble for SRH as Abhishek Sharma accused of major offence during KKR vs SRH IPL 2026 clash

Trouble for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Abhishek Sharma as the governing body of the Indian Premier League (IPL) accused him of breaching Article 2.3 of the IPL Code of Conduct. Under this law, the accused player, who is now Abhishek Sharma, will have to pay 25 percent of his match fee as a penalty.  

Abhishek was accused of breaching the rule following SRH’s confident win over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday night at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Hyderabad registered the crucial win over the three-time IPL winners by a huge margin of 65 runs. These results not only helped them to open their points tally but also improved their net run rate, which looked awful after their defeat in the IPL 2026 opener against the Mumbai Indian at the Wankhede Stadium. As of now, SRH is standing at the sixth spot with one win and one defeat and a +0.469 net run rate.

IPL issued an official statement on Abhishek Sharma's action on the field

Hours after the conclusion of the KKR vs SRH IPL 2026 match, Abhishek Sharma took the headlines because of the rule break. Article 2.3 of the IPL Code of Conduct punishes a player when the individual is found using obscene language during a match. Sharma might have used some offensive words during their encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders, for which he is liable to pay the fine. It is unclear for which particular instance the Sunrisers opener has been punished.

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“Abhishek Sharma, All-rounder, Sunrisers Hyderabad, has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team's match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Thursday. He admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.3 and accepted the Match Referee's sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding,” the official statement issued by the IPL reads.

When Abhishek Sharma lost his cool vs KKR?

The opener looked unhappy when the third umpire gave him out following a controversial catch taken by Varun Chakaravarthy at the deep. The KKR fielder made a fine effort to dismiss the batter, but did the ball touch the ground before going into the palm of the fielder? The third umpire checked the action multiple times on screen, using advanced technology, and finally decided to call it an out. As the catch looked controversial enough to put some doubts over the final verdict, Sharma was visibly unhappy when he was heading back to the dug-out.

Abhishek Sharma did his job precisely before losing his wicket. The star Indian opener, who struggled a lot with his form in the recent past, scored 48 off 21 with four 4s and four 6s. He batted with a strike rate of 228.57.

KKR is yet to get its first win in IPL 2026

Batting first, the visiting team put a strong total of 226 runs in exchange for 8 wickets. In reply, Kolkata Knight Riders managed to claim only 161 runs for 10 wickets in 16 overs.

Apart from New Zealand opener Finn Allen’s explosive cameo and Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s half-century, there was nothing notable from the team’s batting. KKR remains winless after playing two games in the ongoing IPL 2026.