Kevin Pietersen, who earned the Player of the Tournament award in England’s successful 2010 T20 World Cup campaign,
Praised Indian opener Abhishek Sharma’s batsmanship in the game’s shortest format.
Abhishek has made an excellent start to his international career, scoring 1012 runs in 28 innings at an average of 37.48 and a strike rate of 189.52 in T20Is. He’s already registered six fifties and two centuries. The Punjab batter scored the most runs in both the Asia Cup and the subsequent five-match series against Australia.
Pietersen described Abhishek as the “most complete opening batter in T20 cricket”. The cricketer-turned-commentator also stated that the southpaw’s ascent was not surprising to him.
“I am not surprised at all by this. Abhishek is the most complete opener in T20 cricket. “Fearless, courageous, and talented!” Pietersen quote-retweeted a post from his X account.
Not surprised at all by this. Abhishek is the most complete opening batter in T20 cricket. Fearless, courageous and talented! https://t.co/Ny7we4uYoF
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) November 9, 2025
In the recently concluded five-match T20I series against Australia, the 25-year-old slammed 163 runs in five innings at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 161.39. During the fifth T20I at The Gabba in Brisbane last week, Abhishek became the fastest to 1000 T20I runs by balls faced by full-member nations. He took just 528 balls to get to the four-figure mark, surpassing Suryakumar Yadav’s record (573 balls).
Abhishek also became the second-fastest Indian batter to score 1000 runs in terms of innings. He got to the landmark in 28 innings, one more than former India captain Virat Kohli, who sits at the top.
Abhishek will return to action during India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting on December 9. Before this assignment, the Men in Blue will play two Tests and three ODIs against the Proteas.
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