Abhishek hit three fifties in the Asia Cup 2025.
India batting star Abhishek Sharma is in the form of his life. The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener was pivotal in the Men in Blue clinching the Asia Cup 2025 trophy recently.
The 25-year-old was the highest run-getter in the tournament with 314 runs at an average of 44.85 while striking at an incredible rate of 200. Abhishek smashed three half-centuries in seven innings. Unsurprisingly, he was named the ‘Player of the Tournament’ for his performance.
Abhishek Sharma has made rapid strides in the last two years, becoming the first-choice opener for India in T20Is. Since the start of 2024, he has scored 2,161 runs in the shorter format at a strike rate of 199.90 while averaging 35.42. He has registered four hundreds and 12 fifties in this period.
SRH assistant coach Simon Helmot, in an interview with The Indian Express, revealed the changes that have helped Abhishek unlock his true potential.
“It’s more about his stance. He’s adjusted slightly… He’s become more relaxed at the crease, not as tense and rigid. He’s able to access both sides of the ground. He’s able to get in really good positions. Doesn’t over-complicate the way in which he plays. He’s quite still at the point of impact,” said Helmot.
The SRH coach, who has worked with Abhishek closely, thinks this slight change has helped him access both sides of the wickets with ease. Helmot also believes Abhishek is mentally tough and that helps him take on the bowlers from the get-go.
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One of the greatest ever white-ball players, AB de Villiers, recently heaped high praise on the Punjab batter. The former South Africa great talked about what makes Abhishek Sharma special on his YouTube channel.
“Will be great to see what he can get over there in Australia. I think he will enjoy the conditions because there’s quite a bit of bounce. He likes freeing up his arms over the off-side, opening up the blade, covering the point to third man boundary, hitting sixes over there. He can also clear up or open up the leg side as well. All round player, fantastic batter to watch,” said de Villiers.
Team India is scheduled to play three ODIs and five T20 internationals on the tour of Australia, which kicks off on October 19.
The 25-year-old is part of the T20I squad, with the matches starting on October 29. Alike the intra-continental tournament, Abhishek will open the innings for India alongside the vice-captain, Shubman Gill. Abhishek, however, is left out of the ODI squad.
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
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