Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja has credited Rohit Sharma for playing a big role in Abhishek Sharma’s rise in T20I cricket. Abhishek Sharma, in just 19 matches since his debut post-India’s T20 World Cup victory and following the retirements of Rohit and Virat Kohli, has become a backbone in India’s T20I batting line-up. He has scored 596 runs at an average of 33.11 with an extraordinary strike rate of 195.40.
“He (Abhishek Sharma) is a dominating player. What I will add is that the entire team have played a role in his success because to accept that we will play in this manner, Rohit Sharma originated this. He isn’t here, but he has put this habit,” Jadeja said during a conversation with Sony Sports.
“Otherwise, the way he got out, two years ago, six years ago, or even 10 years ago, he may have been questioned for scoring 30 runs and getting out. The point is that only if he looks to hit can he get out. The confidence that he is getting, the team appreciating him for his style of play and the eighth batter in the team is allowing him to bat in this manner,” he added.
Nayar On Abhishek
Meanwhile, former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar believes that Abhishek Sharma’s rise is due to his hunger for cricket and his diligent mindset.
“He goes everywhere to play matches. When he is not playing for India, whether it is in Delhi or Dehradun or Rajasthan or Mumbai, wherever there is cricket happening, wherever there is a ground, wherever he can get a chance, Abhishek Sharma goes there to practice. He’s not got the talent, but he is also diligent. The mindset to become a cricketer is most important to him,” Nayar said.
Abhishek’s fearless batting was again evident in Asia Cup 2025, where he scored a quickfire 30 off 16 balls against UAE, followed by an explosive 31 off 13 balls against Pakistan. India will now face Oman on September 10 after two consecutive wins against UAE and Pakistan.
India Asia Cup 2025 squad
Indian cricket team: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh