Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) Aniket Verma plays a shot on way to his maiden half-century in IPL, against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam on Sunday (March 30). Photo: BCCI
Who is Aniket Verma? SRH batter smashes 41-ball 74 in IPL 2025
SRH bought Aniket Verma for Rs 30 lakh at last year's IPL mega auction. Aniket had smashed a 41-ball 123 with 13 sixes in Madhya Pradesh League in December 2024
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) Aniket Verma is the latest batting sensation to light up the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made headlines with his big hitting against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam on Sunday afternoon (March 30).
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The 23-year-old right-hand batter played a fearless knock in IPL 2025 despite SRH losing early wickets and being in trouble at Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. Aniket registered his maiden IPL half-century, off just 34 balls. He went on to make a superb 41-ball 74 with five fours and six sixes. It took an outstanding catch from Jake Fraser-McGurk to end his knock.
Sixes off Axar Patel
After opting to bat first, SRH were reeling at 25/3 in 2.3 overs. In walked Aniket to face Australian quick Mitchell Starc, who had just removed Nitish Reddy for a duck. Aniket was welcomed by Starc with a bouncer and he ducked under it.
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The next ball, Ankit flicked Starc’s delivery over square-leg for a boundary. He made his intentions clear that he would play attacking cricket despite his team losing three wickets inside three overs. Later, he smashed two sixes in a row twice off DC captain Axar Patel.
Who is Aniket Verma?
Aniket was born in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh and plays for Madhya Pradesh. He had not played at senior level when he was bought by SRH for his base price of Rs 30 lakh at the IPL mega auction last year. He made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh against Hyderabad in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on December 3, 2024. It was a forgettable outing as he was dismissed for a golden duck. That was the only T20 game for him before IPL 2025.
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He made his IPL debut for SRH on March 23 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Hyderabad. He scored seven runs, and in the next game, against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the same venue, he contributed 36 runs for the team.
In the BCCI’s Under-23 one-day tournament last December, Aniket showcased his batting prowess by blazing to a 75-ball 101 with eight sixes and six fours against Karnataka. He finished the tournament with a strike rate of 152.06.
Also last year, he was outstanding in the Madhya Pradesh League (MPL) franchise-based T20 tournament for Scindia Cup as he aggregated 244 runs in five innings with a strike rate of 205. In one of the games, he blitzed a 41-ball 123 with 13 sixes and eight fours at a strike rate of 300 for Bhopal Leopards. Thanks to his incredible hitting, Bhopal posted a massive 278/4 in 20 overs.
Uncle’s support for Aniket
According to a report in Cricbuzz, Aniket lost his mother as a little boy and since then he has lived with his uncle Amit Verma in Bhopal. His uncle said Aniket as a six-month-old picked a bat and ball “among all the toys laid out for him”.
“When I started playing cricket, people in my family were not supportive. We were not strong financially. It was my uncle who used to support me. He liked cricket too and he saw that even I was interested in it. So he told me, 'You play, I am with you. You do whatever you want, I am with you. Don't worry about anything.' So he supported me in everything, everywhere. Even if he couldn't fulfil his own needs, he would fulfil mine,” Aniket told the website recently.
Aniket, as a 10-year-old joined Ankur Cricket Academy in Bhopal where he was guided by coach Jyoti Prakash Tyagi.
“Amit drove his nephew 13 kilometres one way each day while also juggling his day job. When he wasn’t around, Aniket would cycle all the way, wrapping up his warm-up even before stepping onto the ground. From the very beginning, Tyagi felt Aniket stood out among his peers in many ways,” the website reported.
“There was a match in Ankur league, I scored 256,” Aniket said. "After that game Jyoti sir told me that I'll score 400 one day. He didn't say well played. He just said you'll score 400 one day.”
He told the website that he wants to hit the most sixes in IPL 2025. Aniket has begun well in the quest for this and people are talking about him after his knock on Sunday.
