Former SRH captain Kane Williamson has sang laurels over Abhishek Sharma’s extraordinary skills and talent, hailing the young opener as one of the most dangerous T20 batters in the world.
Abhishek had a breakthrough IPL 2024 season while opening alongside Travis Head, as the duo formed one of the most destructive T20 opening combos ever. Sharma whacked 484 runs at a strike rate of 204 last season, and earned a call-up to India’s T20I team.
He was inconsistent in the initial few matches for India but got a long rope from Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav, and that faith has been vindicated: in 17 T20Is, Abhishek has an average of 33 and a strike rate of 193, with two centuries to his name.
‘Most Dangerous T20 Batters In The World’: Kane Williamson on Abhishek Sharma
Williamson says Abhishek has got the gift of timing, like Klaasen, but not the brute force as the South African. The New Zealander reckons Abhishek’s ability to change his shot at the last instance makes him special.
“He has got a great bat swing and is a natural timer of the ball,” Williamson told ESPNcricinfo. “He has got that gift of power but it’s not through brute force. It is through timing the ball and playing all around the ground, which is a superpower in a lot of ways. It’s a little bit like Heinrich Klaasen. I mean different with the brute strength but the ability to change your options and score pretty much all around the ground. Changing your shot at the last minute – because you’re not overhitting – is a skill that not many have.”
SRH had traded in Abhishek from Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2019 when Williamson was with the franchise.
He added, “Sometimes in the IPL, it’s quite difficult to have a long pathway for a young player. But yeah, a real masterstroke obviously now bearing fruit with Abhi being one of the most dangerous T20 batters in the world.”
I’m sure he has aspirations to play Test cricket for India: Kane Williamson
While Abhishek is currently being seen as T20 specialist, the former New Zealand captain feels that the left-hander can play Test cricket as well considering his strong technique.
“Clearly a strength of his is striking the ball which lends itself to white-ball cricket but I still think he has a very good technique as well. So I don’t know if he will just take that one route. I’m sure he has aspirations to play Test cricket for India, which you know is often the ultimate achievement. I think he can adjust his game. It’s clean, it’s not brute. It’s picking the ball and playing it on merit,” Williamson said.
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