Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 14 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara hailed Abhishek Sharma for becoming the fastest batter to reach 2,000 T20I runs, comparing his ability in the format to West Indies titan Chris Gayle and hailing his maturity while scoring 30-ball 69 during the second T20I against West Indies at Indore.
India will take on West Indies in the fourth T20I at Hyderabad's Uppal Stadium on Wednesday. So far in the series, Abhishek has scored 110 runs in three matches, including a 30-ball 69 at Indore, which made him the fastest batter to reach 2,000 T20I runs in just 1,024 balls.
Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Game Plan', Pujara spoke about Abhishek. "Nobody thought that he would cross such a big milestone so quickly. But the way Abhishek has performed, I think he is probably one of the best T20 players the Indian team has had so far. His name will be remembered for a long time. When we talk about the T20 format, we immediately think of Chris Gayle from the West Indies. Abhishek has that kind of ability. The way he showed maturity, especially in Indore, by taking a little time, even though five-six balls is a lot of time for him, shows that he is understanding his game a little better, recognising the opposition's strengths, and batting accordingly. Now, in Hyderabad, he has played a lot on that ground, and that experience and familiarity matter, even in T20s."
In 65 T20Is and 64 innings, Abhishek has scored 2,036 runs at an average of 32.83 and a strike rate of 195.95, with three centuries and 14 fifties and a best score of 135*. This year continues to be highly productive for Abhishek despite some hiccups, having made 921 runs in 32 matches and innings at an average of 29.70 and a strike rate of 206.50, with a century and eight fifties, with his 108 being the fastest T20I century by a batter from a Test-playing nation.
On Ishan Kishan's fine run this year in the shortest format, Pujara said that the southpaw is giving "Indian team what they need" at number three, and while he will not be scoring big all the time, he has always maximised the powerplay.
"Coming in at number 3, Ishan Kishan is giving the Indian team what they need. I don't think you will see a big score every time because everyone in the top order is an explosive player. Their role is only to give the team a good start and to utilise the powerplay to the maximum. So, whenever Ishan Kishan comes out to bat, he has maximised the powerplay, and after that, if you want him to accelerate, he has scored those quickfire 30-40 runs as well. I think that's good enough. Maybe, for his personal milestones, you might want him to score big runs, but he is doing the job for the team at the moment," he signed off.
This year, which has been a comeback year for the left-hander in T20Is, Ishan has made 1,122 runs in 32 matches and innings at an average of 38.68 and a strike rate of 170.00, with a century and seven fifties, with a best score of 103. He is just 43 runs from breaking Suryakumar Yadav's record for most runs by an Indian batter in T20Is during a calendar year. (ANI)
"His name will be remembered for a long time": Pujara on Abhishek Sharma's T20I heroics
