After Abhishek Sharma Destroyed Shaheen Afridi, Virender Sehwag's Blunt 'Fear' Remark

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag was all praise for young batter Abhishek Sharma, following his quickfire knock against Pakistan in their Asia Cup 2025 match on Sunday. While chasing 128, the 25-year-old scored a quickfire 13-ball 31, with four fours and two sixes, continuing his fine form with the bat in the tournament. He had also scored a 16-ball 30 in the previous match against the United Arab Emirates. During an interaction on Sony Sports, Sehwag credited Abhishek for unsettling the opposition, especially with the way he batted against Shaheen Afridi.

"You rarely get to see such a talent, the strike rate at which he bats. He has a strike rate of 193, and he batted at a strike rate above 200 today. You get very few players who play with a strike rate of 200 against the new ball. We have seen that with the old ball because everyone has to hit later," said Sehwag.

Sehwag suggested that the bowlers are afraid to face Abhishek due to the way he bats in the Powerplay.

"It's slightly difficult to hit fast bowlers for fours and sixes at will with the new ball. However, Abhishek does that exceptionally. When he comes to the ground, the bowlers have a fear as to where they should bowl to him. I get delighted watching him bat," he added.

So far in his T20I career, Abhishek has scored 565 runs in 17 innings at an average of 33.23, with a strike rate of 193.49, including two centuries and as many fifties.

Abhishek is currently the top ranked T20I batter in the world, ahead of compatriot Tilak Varma and England's Phil Salt.

On Sunday, he surpassed former India captain Virat Kohli with a quickfire knock in at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Chasing 128 on a tricky surface, Abhishek slammed a 13-ball 31 to put his team in control of the chase. 

By doing so, he became the first Indian batter to score 30 or more runs in Powerplay against Pakistan in T20Is. Kohli had slammed 29 runs against Pakistan at the same venue in 2022.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Abhishek Sharma Virender Sehwag Asia Cup 2025 Cricket