Abhishek Sharma is the latest incoming star for India after he blasted a sensational century in just his second T20 International. Abhishek has been enjoying a great purple patch since last year during which he became the second-highest run scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 485 runs, lightened up the IPL in the powerplay, and took Sunrisers Hyderabad to the final. He scored 484 runs and hit 42 sixes, the highest this season, and eventually got his India debut where he became the tenth Indian to score a T20 International hundred.
Like many Indian stars in recent years, Abhishek also came through the Under-19 ranks. He was part of India’s victorious campaign in 2018 and played as an all-rounder. Under Rahul Dravid’s coaching and Prithvi Shaw’s captaincy, the southpaw played six matches and although most of the accolades went to his close friend Shubman Gill, he also made handy contributions with six wickets and scored one fifty in those matches.
Abhishek is originally from Punjab where he played from a very young age and started to represent his state in age-group cricket when he is just 12. This is when he built a close friendship with Gill with whom he also opened for their senior state team and then eventually for India national team in Zimbabwe. In fact, after his century, Abhishek revealed that he has played with his friend Gill’s bat and shared a special word of thanks for the bat which helped him score his maiden century.
Ex-Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh is also playing a key role in shaping up Abhshek’s cricket career and beyond. The all-rounder who was the ‘Player-of-the-tournament’ during India’s 2011 World Cup triumph also belongs to Punjab and acting as a mentor for Abhishek for last few years. Not only he is providing him tips on the valuable technical areas of the game, but he is also helping him in the mental aspects to ensure Abhishek can grew the right temperament required to be successful at the highest level.
The approach Abhishek takes in exactly what is required in the modern T20 cricket where he takes calculated risk and try to utilize the Poweplay to the fullest. The fielding restrictions in first six overs which allows the bowling captains to keep only two players outside the 15-yard circle is used brilliantly by Abhishek, who does not hold himself back from playing lofted shots at every corner of the ground. This approach provided him good reward as developed one of the most aggressive opening partnerships with Trevis Head in the IPL. This is Abhishek’s seventh season in the IPL but the impact he created this time was unparallel. The most memorable partnership came when he and Head chased down a target of 165 within 10 overs against Lucknow Super Giants.
The retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did open up spots at the top of the order and Indian team needs to go through a period of transition. However, in recent times, India has a long list of openers shining in IPL and International cricket including Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan. Hence it will not be easy for Abhishek to cement his spot and he needs to contribute consistently. Off course it is difficult to deliver with big score consistently due to the nature of the format and Abhishek should be careful to not compromise on his strike rate while focussing on his average.
Abhishek is also a handy left-arm spinner and this can help him with an added advantage to become an important member in the eleven. But he needs to work a lot on his bowling to ensure that the captain can trust him to bowl 2-3 overs in every match consistently.
Overall, it looked like Abhishek can be an asset for this Indian team with his multi-dimensional talent. Although India just completed a successful T20 World Cup campaign, the next edition is less than two years away. If he wants to be part of that campaign at home, he will hope to make a mark whatever limited opportunity he gets to make himself a permanent member of the new looked Indian team soon.
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