Kris Srikkanth Sends Blunt Message To India Batters After Abhishek Sharma's Heroics: "Huge Difference"

Abhishek Sharma is the No. 1-ranked T20I batter in the world, and he proved his pedigree once again with a breathtaking 35-ball 84 to power India to victory over New Zealand in the first T20I on Wednesday. Abhishek has emerged as not only India's most destructive batter, but also the team's most consistent batter, in recent months. Former India cricketer and chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth stated that there is a clear gulf between Abhishek and the rest of the Indian batting lineup.

"Abhishek Sharma makes a huge difference. In T20 matches, opening is very important. He does not play across, he won't hit sixes from standing still, but he has a good reach and uses his height well. He is playing very intelligent cricket. He is not going for sixes every ball. There is a huge difference in him and the rest of the Indian cricketers," Srikkanth said, speaking on his YouTube channel.

"When Abhishek scores more than 50, the team is bound to win. You don't need anything else. Every time he scores a 50 India gets to 200," he added.

Abhishek's destructive prowess was on full display on Wednesday as he set the tone for India to pile up an enormous total. When he departed after bludgeoning eight sixes and five boundaries, India's total was already on 149 at just the 12th over.

However, Hardik Pandya (25 off 16) and Rinku Singh (44 off 20) played fiery innings at the death to take India to a gigantic total of 238/7 in 20 overs.

Srikkanth reserved praise for the depth of India's T20I batting lineup.

"You can bat the opposition out in T20 cricket and India has a gun batting line-up. Everyone at the top can score, Hardik can score, Rinku can score," he said.

India ultimately clinched a convincing 48-run victory over New Zealand to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.

Topics mentioned in this article

Abhishek Sharma Krisnamachari Srikkanth India Cricket Team Cricket India vs New Zealand 2026