It seems that Abhishek Sharma’s stormy innings of 84 runs has mesmerized the entire cricket world. Former India international Irfan Pathan was all praise for the budding Indian opener. Pathan suggested that the board should include Sharma in the ODI squad along with the T20I setup.
On the afternoon of January 22, the former India all-rounder took to his official ‘X’ account to share a post to celebrate Abhishek Sharma’s brilliant batting performance. Pathan suggested BCCI to consider starting the ICC ODI World Cup in 2027.
Abhishek Sharma single-handedly destroyed New Zealand’s bowling.
During the India vs New Zealand first T20 match in Nagpur, New Zealand bowlers were looking in rhythm with the new ball. Brilliant batsmen like Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan could not maximize their time in the middle as the Kiwi bowlers performed well early in the first innings.
When the situation looked a bit uncomfortable for the host team, Sharma stood firm with all his might. With alert captain Suryakumar Yadav, the southpaw was scoring runs at a brisk pace.
The opener took only 35 runs to score 84 runs with the help of eight sixes and five fours at a strike rate of 240.00. With the help of Sharma’s impressive innings, Team India scored 238 runs on the board and eventually won the match by 48 runs.
Abhishek Sharma’s extraordinary batting statistics
Since the Asia Cup 2025, the Punjab-born player has been consistently scoring runs for the Men in Blue. According to ESPN Cricinfo, Sharma took only 2898 balls to complete 5000 runs in T20 cricket – the fastest to the milestone ahead of Andre Russell.
So far, Abhishek Sharma has played 34 T20 matches for India and scored a total of 1199 runs at a strike rate of 190.92. He hit seven 50s and a few 100s to claim these breathtaking figures.
Irfan wants to see Pathan Sharma in ODI team
Amid the batsman’s ongoing form, Irfan Pathan has now started imagining what Sharma can do in the 50-over format. He highlighted Sharma’s potential as an opening batsman in One Day International by comparing him with other star batsmen like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Pathan believes that Sharma’s aggressive batting in the powerplay can help the team score some extra runs at a fast pace in this format as well.
Abhishek Sharma should be considered for the 50-over World Cup. People like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad are ahead of him at this time. But imagine him maximizing the powerplay just like in T20.
– Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) 22 January 2026
Pathan wrote on his ‘X’ post, “Abhishek Sharma should be considered for the 50-over World Cup. Players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad are ahead of him at the moment. But imagine him maximizing the powerplay just like in T20.”
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