He is currently leading the most runs chart in Asia Cup 2025.
Smashing runs at a strike rate of 150 to 200 in four or five innings and still averaging over 35 in T20I cricket might seem attainable. But doing it consistently, in almost every outing, is anything but easy. Abhishek Sharma, however, doesn’t believe in sitting back and waiting for things to happen. Instead, he goes out, produces moments of brilliance, and keeps making a strong case for himself.
Abhishek Sharma has been by far the standout batter of the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. He has won over fans, former cricketers, and pundits alike with his free-flowing, aggressive batting style. The impact of his approach is reflected in the strike rate at which his runs have come. The left-hander has amassed 173 runs in the tournament so far, averaging an impressive 43.25, including a fifty. His blazing strike rate of 208.43 is the second highest in the competition, behind only Afghanistan’s Ashmatullah Omarzai (89 runs at 217.07).
Abhishek’s swashbuckling knock against Pakistan earned high praise from former India spinner–turned-YouTuber Ravichandran Ashwin, who predicted that the youngster could go on to become India’s best white-ball batter.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, “I want to tell you that this is not the arrival of Abhishek Sharma, this is just the beginning. He has just started. He has a long future ahead. He is going to blow the cricketing world apart.”
During his 39-ball stay at the crease, Abhishek showcased a perfect blend of timing, aggression, and power. The 23-year-old hammered a blistering 74 runs at a strike rate of 189.74. His form has been equally destructive in recent outings: 38 off 15 balls vs Oman, 31 off 13 balls vs Pakistan, and 30 off 16 balls vs UAE — underlining his ability to attack from the very first ball.
Ashwin also noted that Abhishek has all the qualities to carry forward the legacy of his coach, idol, and former India great Yuvraj Singh.
“Take that in writing. He has so much ability, just like how Yuvraj Singh became India’s marquee white-ball cricketer. The best white-ball batter in limited-overs cricket for India. He can reach that level easily. I think he is going to carry Yuvraj’s legacy forward. He is a phenomenal talent.”
Abhishek Sharma’s knock was decorated with five sixes and six fours, but what impressed Ashwin the most was his strokeplay. The former India spinner highlighted one standout moment when the opener shuffled across and slapped a leg-stump delivery through extra cover for a boundary — a shot that brought up his third T20I fifty. Ashwin even likened it to MS Dhoni’s iconic helicopter stroke.
“Abhishek Sharma hit an inside-out, MS Dhoni-style helicopter cover drive. Everybody will talk about the five sixes he hit, but I want to talk about this cover drive, because there was finesse in that shot. Despite only having one bat swing, he can adjust his downswing. If a batter can make the game look that simple, then why would you not want to watch him day in and day out?” Ashwin said.
Abhishek raced to his half-century in just 24 balls and, along with Shubman Gill, put on 105 runs off 59 balls for the opening wicket to make light work of the 172-run chase. Though Pakistan’s bowlers managed to claw things back, leaving India 18 runs to get off the final three overs, Tilak Varma’s late flourish — a boundary and a six — sealed the win and condemned Pakistan to their second defeat of the tournament.
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Abhishek Sharma received his T20I debut cap in July 2024 against Zimbabwe, where he was dismissed for a four-ball duck. But he bounced back in remarkable fashion in the very next match, smashing a 47-ball hundred, and since then he has never looked back. Fast forward to the present, the southpaw has amassed 708 runs in just 20 innings, averaging an impressive 35.40 with a career strike rate of 197.21. His tally already includes two hundreds and three fifties. Remarkably, 570 of his 708 runs have come in boundaries — with 65 fours and 53 sixes in just 359 balls faced in his T20I career so far.
Abhishek has also showcased outstanding form for Sunrisers Hyderabad over the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League. In IPL 2024, he enjoyed his best campaign, scoring 484 runs at an average of 32.26 and a staggering strike rate of 204.21, a season that earned him an India call-up. He carried that momentum into the next year, piling up 439 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33.76 and a strike rate of 193.39.
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