How India’s T20 Opener Abhishek Sharma Found His Zone
Nairobi. 1996. Afridi. 37-ball century. Whenever people thought about the fastest hundreds, only the charismatic Pathan’s dhamakedaar (explosive) innings against Sri Lanka came to mind. Even though that knock was not shown on TV in India. Even though AB de Villiers broke that record by six balls in 2015.
Now, Indian fans also have their own special 37-ball century to celebrate—one that deserves its place in cricket’s kahani (story) for the quality of the opposition and the sheer class of batting. Abhishek Sharma’s 54-ball 135 against England in the fifth T20I at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday was something special.
Mumbai’s Wankhede was buzzing like a Coldplay concert, with the crowd chanting in full josh (energy), “Abhi-Shek, Abhi-Shek!”
As he walked back to the dugout, he turned around and acknowledged the crowd. Later, he would have surely been excited to check his social media for appreciation from his mentor, Yuvraj Singh. And there it was—”Well played @IamAbhiSharma4! That’s where I want to see you! Proud of you,” Yuvraj posted on ‘X’.
Just like his father Yograj, Yuvraj has given Abhishek some tough love since taking him under his wing after the pandemic. He has often told the media and fans not to expect him to wear the India jersey just after one solid IPL or Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) season.
From training in different cities at odd hours to practicing on various types of wickets, Yuvraj drilled one thing into Abhishek’s mind—he must play till the end and not just be happy with small but sundar (beautiful) 30s and 40s.
“Maybe he will be happy today. He always wanted me to bat till the 15th or 20th over. I tried to do that,” Abhishek said after the match.
Abhishek’s transformation—where he combined dhamaka (fireworks) with consistency—began in the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was the second-highest run-scorer with 485 runs at a strike rate of 192.46 in Punjab’s vijayi (winning) campaign.
His chats and practice sessions with legendary West Indian Brian Lara, who was the Sunrisers Hyderabad coach during IPL 2023, helped too. “I worked very hard before that season, and when I saw the results, I thought I should back myself and express myself,” Abhishek told reporters.
“I practiced a lot of match scenarios in open nets. Lara sir told me one thing—play your shots, but make sure you don’t get out. That stayed in my mind. I realized I could attack from the first or second ball itself. When you are young, you don’t explore much, but I did that and felt I could play with more intent and help the team,” he added.
Intent is something Abhishek thrives on. He scored 255 runs in this year’s SMAT at a strike rate of 216, including a 28-ball century. In last year’s IPL, opening with one of his cricketing idols, Travis Head, he smashed 484 runs at a strike rate of 204.21. In 17 matches for India, his 535 runs have come at 193.84.
Did he think about the record for the fastest Indian century when he was on 94 off 32 balls and hitting sixes like it was gully cricket? “I was in my zone, just reacting to the ball. I didn’t even know my score,” Abhishek said, crediting Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav for his ton. “I just asked Surya paaji, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘A wicket just fell, take a couple of balls.’ That helped. I didn’t even realize I was about to hit the fastest hundred.”
India still has 13 more T20Is this year, but none before August. Abhishek will face competition for the opening spot from his India U-19 and Punjab teammate Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Was this century perfectly timed then? Abhishek’s answer was very humble. “There has never been competition among us—we have been playing together since U-16.
Our only sapna (dream) was to play for India. Now, all three of us are playing. There is no better feeling than this.”
