Former Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik showered praise on the dashing opening batter Abhishek Sharma, who scored an exceptional 69 off 30 balls in the third T20I against the West Indies in Indore on Sunday, October 11.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Karthik was amazed by Sharma’s batting prowess as he emerged the fastest batter to reach 2000 T20I runs by balls faced. He added that Abhishek has constantly put opposition bowling attacks under pressure.
“To score so fast while being consistent is what sets him apart from some of the other players. Across conditions, he has constantly put attacks under pressure. And when you see Abhishek Sharma walking out, as a team you fear it. You know that’s the wicket we need early. He has blossomed into a world superpower as an opener,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“In him, India has a destructive attack who can take it on even in the big moments. Even if put under pressure, he takes the positive option and looks for the big shots. He has a very positive outlook towards how he wants to play this format. Apart from being destructive, he also added nous to his batting. He has the skills and the shots, but now he has become a consistent churner of runs at that strike rate,” he added.
On the other hand, former Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane, who recently bid adieu across formats, praised Abhishek for consistently finding different ways to score runs without losing his strike rate.
“He is special because he finds different methods to score runs. If he’s struggling in a particular area, he’ll still find a way to score runs without losing his strike rate. To bat at an almost 200 strike rate with such consistency is amazing,” Rahane said.
The action now moves to the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, October 14.
