Ravi Shastri believes India will “take off" in next month’s T20 World Cup if their explosive opener Abhishek Sharma performs well.
Abhishek Sharma. (Photo Credits: BCCI/X)
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has lavished praise on opener Abhishek Sharma and suggested that India would get an explosive start during the T20 World Cup 2026 if he gets a positive start. Sharma has been in some fine form in the T20 format and has been scoring runs at a quick pace for India consistently. Abhishek recently became the fastest batter to complete 5000 T20 runs. He took a total of 2898 balls to achieve the feat and surpass the great Andre Russell who got to 5000 in 2942 balls.
The opening batter has two 30+ scores and a half-century in the last four T20I innings that he has played for India. The home side put up a brilliant show against New Zealand in the first match of the five-match T20I series in Nagpur where Abhishek hit an aggressive 84 off 35 deliveries that helped India post a massive total. The home side eventually clinched a win by 48 runs to take 1-0 lead.
"Abhishek, without a shadow of a doubt. (He’s the) No. 1 T20 batsman in the world (and is) in a rich vein of form," Shastri said during an ICC event in Mumbai.
“Last evening (on Wednesday), he took the game away from New Zealand. You’ve got to watch out for him because his confidence level is high."
“He’ll be backed by the home crowd and if he takes off, it means India take off," he said.
Ex-England batter Kevin Pietersen also had word of praise for the young Indian batter. “Remember when Abhishek got that 150 (135 off 54 balls; 7 fours, 13 sixes) against England at the Wankhede (Stadium) last year… We interviewed him after the game," Kevin Pietersen recalled.
VIDEO | “If Abhishek Sharma takes off in T20 World Cup, India too will”, says former Indian Cricket Team Coach Ravi Shastri.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 22, 2026
Ravi Shastri believes India too will "take off" in next month's T20 World Cup if their explosive opener Abhishek Sharma fires.
In another splendid… pic.twitter.com/uGiajvIhTa
“I just put my hand on his shoulder and I said, ‘young man, that is the best T20 innings I’ve ever seen in international cricket’. That kid is a proper star," he said.
“When you know he’s batting, you turn the TV on," he added.
The youngster shared thoughts on his aggressive batting after the conclusion of first T20I against the Kiwis. "One thing I've figured that if you want to hit all the balls properly, if you want to play at the striking of 200 or something, that you have to be, you know, carrying that intent and you have to practice a lot for that. Because if you see all these teams, they always have a plan for me. So far, I think it's just not the fielding, it's all about the pitching and the bowling as well. So it's about me preparation I've been doing before the games, because I've got two, three days or maybe a week before this. So I knew in my mind that I'm gonna get challenged by these bowlers and I have this mind," Sharma had said after the first game.
The action now shifts to Raipur where the two sides will lock horns with each other in the second clash of the series.
Also Read: U19 World Cup 2026: Did Pakistan Deliberately Slow Down The Run Chase Against Zimbabwe?
