Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra is in awe of the talent possessed by the Punjab batsman Abhishek Sharma.
Aakash Chopra lauded Abhishek, saying that “he has been a revelation” and wondered whether he is the best T20 opener in the world currently.
Abhishek Sharma is in red-hot form in the Asia Cup 2025
The 25-year-old batting all-rounder Abhishek Sharma has looked in amazing form in the ongoing edition of the Asia Cup, which is currently underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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India have so far played two matches in the Asia Cup 2025 against UAE and Pakistan and won both the games in a comprehensive fashion.
Abhishek Sharma has played a key role in India’s victories and has been quite explosive while opening the innings with vice-captain Shubman Gill.
In India’s tournament opener against the UAE, he scored a quickfire 30 runs, and against Pakistan, he blasted 31 runs to make the match one-sided. He is currently the No. 1-ranked batsman in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.
He jumped down the pitch and hit Shaheen Shah Afridi on the first ball – Aakash Chopra
Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted how Abhishek Sharma took the attack on Shaheen Afridi and lauded him for playing stellar ultra-aggressive cricket irrespective of the situation.
“He jumped down the pitch and hit Shaheen Shah Afridi on the first ball. After that, he hit again and and then hit another terrific six. He thrashed Afridi. The guy’s name is Abhishek Sharma. Since he started playing, he has been a revelation. He bats explosively, but is he the best T20 opener in the world?” he said.
“He hasn’t played for long, has scored 30-odd runs in the last two matches, but when he scores, he jolts everyone. He makes the match one-sided in a jiffy. Whether he is chasing 50 or 200, or batting first, he bats in the same fashion, and he is absolutely stellar,” Chopra added.
Stats are incredible – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra further did some stats digging and revealed that Abhishek Sharma has the best strike rate among all T20I openers who have played at least 100 balls since his debut, and he is followed by the likes of Travis Head, Sanju Samson, Phil Salt, and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the elite list.
“Stats are incredible. Hold your breath, he has a strike rate of (nearly) 200. He has hit two centuries, one of which came against England, and two half-centuries. He is incredible. He has scored consistently at a strike rate of 200, and we are not talking about weak teams. He has played some decent opposition and his playing style hasn’t changed against them,” he said.
“Travis Head is in the second spot. He has played eight games. He has an average of 26 and a strike rate of 194. He hasn’t scored a century, and the sample size is half, but Travis Head plays the way he does. He keeps hitting,” Chopra added.
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