What makes Abhishek Sharma a certain pick as an opener in India's squad for Asia Cup 2025? Here are his numbers
With the T20 World Cup round the corner, the Asia Cup 2025 is being seen a precursor for the global event which will be jointly held by India and Sri Lanka early next year. India have been placed in Group A along with Pakistan, UAE and Oman. Group B consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.
The dashing Punjab batter grabbed everyone's attention in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad when Sharma became the nightmare for opposition bowlers. With Australian Travis Head as his opening partner, Sharma's attacking approach in the powerplay made everyone take a note of the youngster.
In IPL 2024, Sharma scored 484 runs at a staggering strike rate of 204.21, which further earned him his maiden India call-up against Zimbabwe. Although he was dismissed for a duck, Sharma made a statement for himself with a blistering hundred in the next game off just 47 balls.
Mentored by former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, Sharma didn't look back since then. In his last T20I series against England, Sharma's score reads 79, 12, 24, 29 and 135. In fact, his career-best of 135 off just 54 balls showcased his ability to take on any bowling attack in the world.
If anyone through Sharma's numbers in IPL 2024 was a fluke, the SRH opener's 439 runs at a stunning strike rate of 193.39 in the 2025 edition is a testament of the southpaw's growing stature. It was during IPL 2025, when Sharma recorded his highest T20 score of 141.
In 16 T20Is so far, Sharma has accumulated 535 runs at a stunning strike rate of 193.85. It is also the highest for any Indian with at least 500 runs in the shortest format of the game. Furthermore, the left-hander also sits atop the ICC T20I rankings for batters, making him the youngest Indian to achieve the feat. Sharma's compatriots Tilak Varma is at second spot while Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav takes the sixth spot.
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