Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has stated that the way young India opener Abhishek Sharma dominates the bowlers reminds him of legendary Sri Lankan batter Sanath Jayasuriya.
This comes after Abhishek Sharma made 35 off 18 balls, which helped the Indian team chase down South Africa’s total of 117 in 16 overs in the recent third T20I in Dharamshala. With this win, India went 2-1 up in the five-T20I series.
Sharma has been India's destroyer-in-chief in the T20 format, batting at the top of the order and smashing the ball from the first delivery. It was apparent from the moment he stepped into the crease on Sunday in Dharamsala, flicking the first ball of the Indian innings from Lungi Ngidi over fine leg for a six.
“Even before the India-South Africa series, Sharma was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and was just gunning teams down. So, you knew he was in good form. It’s about spending some time out there, and I think that first ball from Lungi Ngidi really set things up for him. From there, there was no looking back. He understood that they were trying to stifle him with tight lengths on the middle and leg stump, but if they erred even slightly, he was there to punish them,” Uthappa said on JioStar.
The game Abhishek Sharma plays is a high-risk, high-reward style that has helped India in many games and could be critical at next year’s T20 World Cup.
Uthappa also stated that the way Abhishek dominates the bowlers reminds him of Sanath Jayasuriya, who used to fill the opponents with fear while bowling to him.
“He’s already hit over 300 sixes in T20 cricket, which tells you what a powerful and dynamic batter he is. In fact, he reminds me of Sanath Jayasuriya—sheer dominance as an opening batter. It instills intimidation and fear in bowlers, something you only see when players are in scorching form. Despite being a youngster, he’s had a prolific year. Teams are planning for him, trying to bowl in areas where he doesn’t score, but he seems to have solutions. That proactive thinking is quite amazing,” Uthappa stated.
Abhishek Sharma will be in action when India and South Africa clash in the fourth T20I in Lucknow on December 17.
