Ex-Sri Lanka Star Praises Abhishek Sharma, Draws Similarity With Chris Gayle
Former Sri Lanka cricketer Chamara Kapugedera lauded India's charismatic opener Abhishek Sharma, likening his impact at the top of the order to Chris Gayle in his prime.
Former Sri Lanka cricketer Chamara Kapugedera lauded India's charismatic opener Abhishek Sharma, likening his impact at the top of the order to Chris Gayle in his prime and emphasising the left-hander's key role in India's T20 successes over the past year. Over the past year in T20Is, Abhishek has maintained a strike rate above 170 while averaging in the mid-30s, notching multiple half-centuries. His powerplay strike rate has consistently ranked among the highest for Indian openers, putting early pressure on opponents and giving the middle order greater freedom to accelerate.
"India's success in the last one year, (has) mainly depended on Abhishek Sharma, the star because the way he batted the past year, I think that's phenomenal.
"I haven't seen anyone doing that except for Chris Gayle when we were starting. I don't think anyone can replace Abhishek Sharma at the moment in the Indian team," Kapugedera told PTI Videos.
Comparing Abhishek with wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, Kapugedera, who played all three formats and featured in over 102 ODIs and 43 T20Is, noted that the former's aggressive style allows India to build their innings around the star cricketer, giving the team greater freedom in the middle overs.
"Yes, Sanju (Samson) is a great player. We have seen him scoring 100s, but the way Abhishek scores runs, it gives India so much of freedom to play around him or do whatever they want actually in the middle overs.
"So, what Abhishek gives is important to India going forward in this (T20 World Cup) campaign, especially for getting into the final." Kapugedera felt that Pakistan holds no clear advantage ahead of their showdown with arch-rivals India on Sunday, despite having played all their matches at the venue.
"There's no advantage for Pakistan in the game here as the conditions in Colombo may not necessarily offer steep bounce. Unlike the SSC (Sinhala Sports Club) surface, known for sponge bounce and carry, the Premadasa wicket is generally lower and slower, often gripping as the game progresses," opined Kapugedera.
"I think going into the match, India will be the favourites, but the way Pakistan is playing, it's going to be a very close game," he said.
On tackling two-paced surfaces like Premadasa Stadium, Kapugedera advised that Indian batters should focus on patience first, building their innings carefully before unleashing aggression.
"It's (pitch) not sort of adverse, but I think these guys know this more than me. I think the game has moved forward, but these guys know inside-out about T20 cricket and batting.
"But the only thing I can say is if the wicket gets tough, give yourself a bit of chance, get set, get yourself in, and then I think India batsmen can capitalise and accelerate in any situation because they can hit sixes anytime they want... all the batsmen are capable of hitting sixes against any opposition and any bowler," he said.
On the spin duel between India and Pakistan, Kapugedera emphasised that control would be the key differentiator, singling out Varun Chakravarthy for his exceptional accuracy and impact.
"Well, I think all these spinners, one thing in common is their control over whatever they do, because they have variations like 3 or 4 variations. But I think the control they possess is the main key, because you can have so many balls, but if you don't have the control, you're going to go for runs easily.
"Especially want to mention someone like Varun Chakravarathy, the control he has and majority of his deliveries after pitching are darting straight into the stumps...this is what will be the key for tweakers -- discipline and control will ultimately decide the contest. Because on a track like Premadasa, pace off the ball and accuracy matters more than bounce," he signed off.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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