The former wicket-keeper batter of India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Dinesh Karthik has been impressed with the performance of the young all-rounder of the national side, Abhishek Sharma who has started his career in the shortest format of the game in a supreme touch in Zimbabwe.
Abhishek was selected for the away T20I series on the back of his great form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, as the left-handed batter managed 484 runs in 16 innings, at an average of 32.26 and a strike rate of over 200, with the help of three fifties.
The 23-year-old went with a free mindset at the opening position for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, having easily blasted away boundaries and over boundaries.
‘He has a good future for India’- Dinesh Karthik
The 23-year-old didn’t make a great start in his T20I career, having collected a duck off four balls in the first five-match T20I series at the Harare Sports Club. Many would have thought of taking it easy in the next game, and keep playing with a safe and defensive style, but Abhishek Sharma wasn’t in that mood.
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The Punjab-born opened his account with a six on the first ball and kept on nailing the big shots. At the beginning of the innings, he was struggling for runs as he found his catch being dropped to get another chance. But since then, he never looked back.
Sharma went on to become the quickest batter (in two innings) to celebrate a century for India in the shortest format of the game. He managed those 100 runs in just 47 balls, with the help of seven boundaries and eight over boundaries.
During a recent Cricbuzz show, the former India veteran was asked about the batting performance of the youngster, who the former believes that having the same temperament in international cricket as he had in the IPL has helped him at this stage.
‘I think he is a future superstar. The 100 that he got (and) we all know the skill that he possesses, but to come out in international cricket and do it the same way that you have done in the IPL is what sets him apart, and I really enjoyed watching that knock. Terrific player. I do think he has a very good future for Indian cricket.’ The former India batter Dinesh Karthik observed.
Even though the SRH batter delivered that century, he wasn’t quite able to continue with the same momentum throughout the whole series ending with 124 runs in four innings, at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 174.64. Only 24 runs came off his blade in the rest three innings.
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It could be the reason why he was left out of India’s T20I squad for the Sri Lanka trip. The blue brigade looked towards the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and others as the openers of the side, which was a surprising decision given how brutal Abhishek was in his maiden T20I series.
Many former players and experts have already questioned the decision to drop him. The first of the three-match T20I series will begin on July 27 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.