New Delhi: Former England captain Kevin Pietersen said he is not surprised by Abhishek Sharma’s remarkable rise in T20Is, as he believed the swashbuckling left-hander is the most complete opening batter in the shortest format. Pietersen’s comments came after Abhishek continued his stellar run for India in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia.
The Indian opener displayed his hitting prowess Down Under against a quality Aussie bowling attack to finish the series as the highest run-getter with 163 runs in 5 innings as India won the series 2-1 after two games were washed out. Only three matches were completed in the series after rain played spoilsport in the 1st and final T20I.
After his brilliant performances in the Asia Cup 2025, Abhishek continued to shine against Australia, providing India with cracking starts at the top. The left-hander, who is currently the no.1 batter in T20I rankings, has left many in awe of his aggressive approach and brute hitting prowess. Recently, Pietersen took to X to laud the Indian opener, stating that he is not surprised by his rise.
“Not surprised at all by this. Abhishek is the most complete opening batter in T20 cricket. Fearless, courageous and talented,” he said about Abhishek after the India opener bagged the Player of the Series against Australia.
Abhishek notched up 163 runs in five innings in the T20I series against Australia at an average of over 40 and an impressive strike rate of 161.39. In the second T20I in Melbourne, when all other Indian batters struggled against Josh Hazlewood, Abhishek slammed a brilliant knock of 68 runs off 37 balls to help the visitors post a respectable total on the board.
Ever since his debut for India last year, Abhishek has been an unstoppable force in T20Is, piling on runs consistently at an impressive strike rate. He formed a destructive opening pairing with Sanju Samson at the top and has continued his exploits after Shubman Gill replaced the wicket-keeper batter as an opener for India in T20Is.
Abhishek has amassed an impressive 1012 runs in 29 matches in T20Is at a brilliant strike rate of 189.51, including six half-centuries and two centuries. He recently became the fastest batter to get to 1,000 runs in T20Is in terms of balls faced. He completed the milestone in 528 deliveries to break Suryakumar Yadav’s record, who achieved the feat in 573 deliveries.
