Abhishek scored 163 runs at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 161.38 in Australia.
Abhishek Sharma earned the Player-of-the-Series award as India defeated Australia by 2-1 margin in the five-match T20I series.
Having proved his mettle on the Indian pitches and in the UAE, the Australian tour was considered as a biggest challenge in Abhishek’s career so far and the left-handed opener came out with flying colors on bouncy wickets.
The 25-year-old finished the series as leading run-getter from either side, scoring 163 runs at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 161.38 with one half-century.
Despite his success, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that Abhishek must continue evolving as a T20I batter.
According to Pathan, bowlers will work him out unless the southpaw learns to “pick and choose” his attacking moments.
“Abhishek Sharma got the Player of the series award and he has been playing fearlessly but we are talking about bilateral series here. Although Asia Cup was a multi-nation series. But teams are well-prepared in World Cups. If Abhishek Sharma steps out and plays every time, teams will start working him out. So, he must pick and choose and I’m sure team management will be concentrating on this. Even Yuvraj Singh will be focusing on it. I will even speak to Yuvi (laughs),” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
“Abhishek will also be thinking that he cannot step out to every bowler in every inning. So, planning can be better. In this game, two catches were dropped off his bowling and even if one would’ve been taken, his innings would have ended,” he added.
“He will play the same way. It’s high-risk cricket and it has high reward but sometimes people may think ‘What shot was this?’ But fearless cricket should also have some rationale and planning. I’m sure Abhishek Sharma will be focusing on this. If he is stepping out, which bowler he needs to do it against. Second thing is, Nathan Ellis troubled him; hence, bowlers around the world will bowl to him with variation in the powerplay. Hence, he needs to focus on that, especially the bat flow. If slower ones come with varied pace – because balls can come up to head high, we saw that in Australia. Hence, Abhishek must work on these things,” he concluded.
After receiving the Player-of-the-Series award, Abhishek Sharma said he prepared himself “mentally and technically” for months to take on the Australian challenge.
“I have been waiting for this tournament. When I got to know we’re going to Australia for the T20Is, I was very excited,” Abhishek said while speaking at the post-match presentation.
“Throughout my career, I’ve seen that Australia is very batting-friendly, and I wanted to prepare myself for these kinds of bowlers and conditions.”
Sharing a sneak peek into his preparation, the 25-year-old said it focused on facing world-class fast bowlers and adapting his game to Australian surfaces.
“If you want to play good cricket and do well for your team, you have to face world-class bowlers. I was practising for these kinds of bowlers because that’s how you improve as a player,” Abhishek replied when asked if Josh Hazlewood’s absence in the last three T20Is made it a bit easy for the India players.
Talking about his ultra-aggressive approach, Abhishek credited the Indian team management for giving him the freedom to play his natural game.
“The captain and coach have given me the clarity and confidence to just go and express myself. As a batter, when you’re scoring 20s and 30s, you know you can go longer, but the clarity to set the momentum for the team has really helped me,” he remarked.