Follow UsAbhishek Sharma’s swashbuckling batting has caught a lot of expert attention, and the acclaimed Kiwi batter Kane Williamson is also one of them.
Williamson, who has already captained Abhishek in Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), felt that it is the left-handed batter’s ability to change shots at the last moment and still generate power that makes him stand out and has been a major reason behind his success so far. Notably, Abhishek scored 484 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 204.21 in IPL 2024.
“He has got a great bat swing and is a natural timer of the ball," Williamson told ESPNcricinfo.
"He has got that gift of power but it's not through brute force. It is through timing the ball and playing all around the ground, which is a superpower in a lot of ways. It's a little bit like Heinrich Klaasen.
“I mean different with the brute strength but the ability to change your options and score pretty much all around the ground. Changing your shot at the last minute - because you're not overhitting - is a skill that not many have.”
Williamson also praised Yuvraj Singh and the IPL setup which identified Abhishek’s talent and pushed him ahead before his time arrived.
"I think there were a few guys who were kind of under Yuvraj Singh's wings," Williamson said. "Abhi was one of them and Shubman [Gill] was another. So clearly there was an identification of talent.
"Sometimes in the IPL, it's quite difficult to have a long pathway for a young player. But yeah, a real masterstroke obviously now bearing fruit with Abhi being one of the most dangerous T20 batters in the world.”
Talking about Abhishek's strengths, Williamson also praised his technique and felt that it was transferable to the longest format of the game as well with the 24-year-old batter getting more mature quite quickly.
“Clearly a strength of his is striking the ball which lends itself to white-ball cricket but I still think he has a very good technique as well," Williamson said.
"So I don't know if he will just take that one route. I'm sure he has aspirations to play Test cricket for India, which you know is often the ultimate achievement. I think he can adjust his game. It's clean, it's not brute. It's picking the ball and playing it on merit.
“He has just got so many dimensions to his game, which comes with that little bit of maturity. He has always had the natural bat swing and the ball-striking [ability], that youthful exuberance. But to channel that and hit the ball to all areas, taking on the best bowlers in the world, so that takes courage as well.
"Now he has such clarity on the game plan and how he wants to approach his cricket. The high side is so high and he's continuing to push the boundaries of his game, and I think for any player in the world, that's what it's about.
“It's about trying to get better and as you get a little bit older and you have a role that you're happy with, then the experience comes into play, the decision-making comes into play, which we're seeing now."