Mohammad Kaif compared Abhishek Sharma’s fearless batting to Chris Gayle, saying the youngster attacks from ball one. After his 14‑ball fifty against New Zealand, Kaif claimed Abhishek’s aggressive style could change matches in T20 cricket.
Former Indian player Mohammad Kaif has compared young Indian opener Abhishek Sharma to Chris Gayle, one of the greatest players of all time in T20 cricket. Kaif's observation came after Abhishek's explosive performance in the third T20 against New Zealand. Kaif opined that Abhishek's attacking style surpasses even Gayle's. Abhishek, who is in terrific form in the series, is second in the run-scoring charts with 152 runs from three matches. He is scoring runs at an average of 76.00 and an incredible strike rate of 271.43.
Kaif analyzed Abhishek's batting style on his YouTube channel. He pointed out that such aggressive batters usually lack consistency. ''Even Chris Gayle used to take time to settle at the crease. On a pitch like Bangalore, he wouldn't even hesitate to play a maiden first over. But Abhishek is not like that. The player starts attacking from the very first ball,'' Kaif said.
Kaif added that Abhishek can change the course of a match by scoring 60-70 runs facing only 12-14 balls, and such players ensure India's victory. In the third T20, Abhishek completed his half-century in just 14 balls. This performance was close to Yuvraj Singh's record of a fifty in 12 balls. He remained unbeaten on 68 runs off 20 balls in the match. The innings, which included seven fours and five sixes, had a strike rate of 340. Along with captain Suryakumar Yadav (57 off 26 balls), Abhishek was able to lead India to victory in just 10 overs.
Related Articles
The 25-year-old Abhishek has already completed 36 matches, scoring 1,267 runs. His average is 38.39 and his strike rate is 195.22. This includes two centuries and eight half-centuries.
