Hebbar scored 560 runs at a strike rate of 210.53 in APL 2026 to win his third successive Orange Cap in the tournament
Shashank Kishore
Published: Nov 12, 2026, 1:07 PM (2 hrs ago)
It says as much about a player's mindset as it does about how far T20 cricket in India has evolved that a domestic cricketer now considers a strike rate of 160-170 inadequate, with 200 increasingly becoming the benchmark. Andhra's Ashwin Hebbar, for one, certainly belongs to the "200 camp".
At 30, he has reinvented himself as an attacking batter, a move he believes will equip him better in his quest to return to the IPL.
Hebbar's rediscovery has involved technical adjustments, a greater understanding of match situations and, perhaps most importantly, a change in mindset. And the results have been encouraging. He has now won the Orange Cap (for most runs) for three successive seasons in the Andhra Premier League (APL).
This season, he struck 560 runs in eight games - mostly as an opener - at a strike rate of 210.53, significantly higher than his strike rate of 176 in 2025. These performances have earned him trials with three IPL teams. He hopes it will help him come back into the IPL, nearly five years after his first and only stint with Delhi Capitals in 2022.
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Just prior to that stint, he had finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but returned from the IPL having warmed the bench all season. Still, he believes the opportunity helped him assess where he was at.
"If you are a bench player, you have all the time in the world. It's up to you how to utilise it," Hebbar tells Cricinfo. "It's easy to get frustrated and say, 'Anyway, I'm not going to play.' Or you can simply spend that time working on what you need to do to get better. I utilised that time to study how David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant all these guys go about their training and match preparation. The one thing I told myself was that I would keep performing no matter what. That was the energy behind my APL performances."
Hebbar has spent considerable time working on his game with coaches in the APL as well as New Zealand's Gary Stead, who has been involved with Andhra since 2025. Their conversations have often gone beyond matches, which Hebbar believes has been "eye-opening". At the trials, he was challenged to showcase his skills as a middle-order batter, something he is ready to embrace.
"Earlier, I used to play at strike rates of 160-170, but now I'm getting to 200 every game," he says. "I've understood the importance of having a 200 strike rate, from the powerplay to the middle overs, and how to negotiate those phases."
Strike rates aside, the APL has also given Hebbar a platform to expand his range of strokes. Where he once relied on a relatively limited repertoire, he now believes he can score all around the wicket, which he hopes to exhibit at the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where Andhra are grouped alongside Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Himachal, Maharashtra, Pondicherry and Tripura in Elite Group C.
With the IPL auction scheduled for December, he hopes the tournament will give him a valuable window to put his improvements on display. Earlier this season, Hebbar didn't feature in the first half of the Ranji Trophy, but he has channelled the hurt of missing out by spending long hours fine-tuning his T20 game.
This ability to compartmentalise is something he has learnt from having soaked in inputs from Stead over the last 15 months.
"He's one of the best coaches I've ever worked with. He's a very calm and easy-going person, which really helps the dressing room," Hebbar says. "His main objective is to get everyone playing as a team. If 11 individuals come together and put out a collective performance, that's what he's primarily about.
"What stands out for me is his directness. Players know whether they are playing, what is expected of them and what their responsibilities are before they walk onto the field. The feedback is honest, without sugarcoating."
"Earlier, I used to play at strike rates of 160-170, but now I'm getting to 200 every game. I've understood the importance of having a 200 strike rate"
Hebbar also draws inspiration from Nitish Kumar Reddy, who he believes is a reminder of what is possible for those within the dressing room.
"The way Nitish has shaped up as a cricketer over the last few years has been really impressive to see. It shows what Andhra cricket is capable of," he says. "It definitely gives us confidence as players that we can also do it. We're really inspired by what he has achieved and what he is still yet to achieve."
Since 2025, Hebbar's quest to improve his game has taken him beyond domestic cricket. For the last two summers, he has travelled to Northern Ireland to play club cricket for Civil Service North of Ireland Cricket Club in Belfast. It is an experience he values for the opportunity to face unfamiliar bowlers, as well as the unique demands of playing in conditions that can change dramatically within a match.
"The pitches are often wet, the weather unpredictable, and a game can be interrupted by heavy rain and within 20 minutes there will be bright sunshine," he laughs. "It makes you a better person. You learn a lot about yourself, not just as a player but also as an individual."
Hebbar comes from a family with a strong academic background. His parents are marine biologists, while his brother is a qualified marine engineer who spent several years in the merchant navy. Following the conventional family route could well have taken Hebbar towards a career in marine engineering, or a related field, but for his family's cricket dream.
"It was my father's dream to play, but his family couldn't afford it. So my journey is in many ways a tribute to my dad. I'm just trying to fulfil his dream. But there's always a hunger to get better and play on a bigger platform. And there's none bigger than the IPL."
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at Cricinfo
