Abhishek Sharma received rich praise from former India opener Abhinav Mukund for his brilliant display of batting and his comeback after scoring a duck on his T20I debut in the recent India v Zimbabwe series in Harare.
The Men in Blue defeated the Chevrons by 42 runs in the fifth and final T20I in Harare on Sunday, July 14, to win the series 4-1. Abhishek, who failed to open his account in the series opener, scored a 47-ball 100 in the second game to demonstrate his international credentials.
Sharma smoked 8 sixes and 7 fours in his knock and completed his final 50 runs in just 12 balls. His knock was applauded by one and all.
Former India opener Abhinav Mukund also shared his thoughts on Abhishek Sharma. He was asked how he would like to see Abhishek Sharma’s game grow from here.
“I don’t want him to change anything. It’s just exciting to see a young player come and smash sixes and fours and get to a 47-ball 100. These are the kind of players that are going to win you games single-handedly. They might end up frustrating you sometimes with a shot that may not be on in that particular situation,” Mukund said on Sony Sports.
Mukund added that the youngster should be allowed to play freely and not be criticized much when he fails.
“However, this is the enthusiasm of youth and you need to just encourage that. When he fails, I just hope nobody is too harsh on him because he is going to give us glorious innings like what we saw here and there is enough proof that he is going to give a lot more to Indian cricket,” Mukund added.
However, despite hitting a century in his second T20I, Abhishek was moved down to No. 3 after Yashasvi Jaiswal joined the Indian squad for the third game. The spin-bowling all-rounder scored 24 runs in the two innings he played in the final three T20Is.
A century was outstanding for Abhishek Sharma: Tino Mawoyo
Tino Mawoyo was asked for his thoughts on Abhishek Sharma’s start to his international career while reviewing the series on Sony Sports.
“I think it was even more exciting because of the way the first innings went. He really looked all out of sorts. He looked uncomfortable. He looked out of place but the way he came out in the second T20I and played the game that he knows, it takes a lot of courage to be able to do that when you have failed,” Mawoyo said.
“I thought that was outstanding for him. A whirlwind start to his T20I career and you can see that he is one guy we can look forward to seeing playing many, many innings in the blue of India,” Mawoyo added.
India is set to play three T20Is against Sri Lanka later this month. It remains to be seen whether Abhishek Sharma gets selected for the tour, given that Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad are all vying for the opening places.
Also Read: Saba Karim Names 2 Potential Replacements For Rohit Sharma As India T20I Captain