The six-hitting ability of the left-handed opening batter from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Abhishek Sharma has shown how aggressive he could be at the opening spot, as he played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Once he got out for a duck on India’s debut, the question was whether he would continue to go with the same fashion for the rest of the series.
During the first T20I against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, Abhishek Sharma pulled the short ball of Brian Bennett straight into the lone fielder, stationed at the square leg region. The batter was gutted with his shot selection; on another day, he could have nailed it at any part of the ground.
The same bowler started the innings during the following game of the series. The same short length was picked by Sharma this time around, as he hammered the ball over that region for a huge six. Once he got the sweet part of the blade, he kept on nailing the big shots and celebrated a 47-ball 100-run knock with the help of seven boundaries and eight over boundaries.
‘You can’t blame Abhishek Sharma’- Rajkumar Sharma
The father of the dynamic opening batter, Abhishek Sharma, feels that when a batter gets out for zero on his debut game, they tend to question their approach, as he was questioning his ‘six hitting’ abilities.
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The Punjab-born batter arrived on the national team, after a successful season in the IPL 2024, where he finished with 484 runs in 16 innings, at an average of 32.26 and a strike rate of over 200, with three half-centuries and a best score of unbeaten 75-runs.
The left-handed has erased the fear of failure and showed his capability of going after the bowlers from the very first ball, and he kept on going with the same intent during the second T20I too.
India went on to make 234/2 in their allotted 20-overs, thanks to that dynamic knock of Abhishek Sharma, before the bowlers did the job with the ball, blowing away the home side for 134 runs, to register a 100-run win, and making a comeback in the series with 1-1 margin.
At a time when India lost their captain Shubman Gill early in the innings, it was important for Abhishek Sharma to stay long in the crease. There was also a moment when he was dropped at long-on by Wellington Masakadza, and he didn’t look back from that point.
During a recent interview with the Indian Express from Amritsar, the father of Abhishek Sharma, Rajkumar Sharma spoke about the preparation of his son after he was dismissed for a duck on his international debut.
‘He was a bit dejected. You can’t blame him. When you get out on naught on your debut, you do question your approach. He was blaming himself for his six-hitting obsession.’ Rajkumar expressed in the interview. ‘I reminded him that his six-hitting ability has helped him reach here. Why change your style now, stick to your strength.’
The veteran figure remained Abhishek Sharma and how his six-hitting abilities in the IPL brought so much success in his career during the IPL 2024.
‘Captain (Shubman Gill) and coach (VVS Laxman) also had a word with him after the match. Laxman sir told him, ‘You were thrashing all the international bowlers in the IPL.’ Senior Sharma reflected on this. ‘Treat it as any IPL match, take your time, get acclimatize,d and then no one will stop you’
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Gill was the captain of Abhishek Sharma during the Under-19 days, and they also opened from the Under-14 days and this is how they have managed to get better for the opening partnership.
‘With Shubman being the captain, it has also helped. The duo has opened for Punjab since their U-14 days and now they are opening for India.’ Rajkumar Sharma remarked. ‘Mark my words, these two will forge a destructive opening partnership and will win many games for India in the future.’
The third T20I of the series will take place at the same ground on July 10.
