"That 31 off 13 pretty much finished Pakistan" - Former Indian wicketkeeper heaps praise on Abhishek Sharma after IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 clash

Former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik praised young opener Abhishek Sharma for his swashbuckling knock in the side's win over Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup. After the Men in Blue restricted their arch-rivals to a below-par total of 127/9 in 20 overs, Abhishek came out all guns blazing.

The 25-year-old took a liking to ace Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi, setting an early tone for India's brilliant run-chase. The southpaw scored a 13-ball 31 with two maximums and four boundaries to all but seal the outcome.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav took over after Abhishek's demolition act, guiding India to a commanding seven-wicket win with 25 balls to spare.

Talking about Abhishek Sharma in a post-match conversation on Cricbuzz, Karthik said (8:09):

"He's a great example of the modern day batter who is fearless. Watching Shaheen Afridi bowl over a period of time, Abhishek would seen how much he can swing the ball and bowl the yorker. And what was his response? First ball, step out and put it away if it's there. 10. It just tells you the mindset of the man and I love watching him bat. He's so exciting and is a breath of fresh air even in this modern day T20 cricket, where they play a shot-a-ball. That 31 off 13 pretty much finished Pakistan then and there."

Abhishek's onslaught on Afridi meant the latter bowled only two overs with woeful figures of 0-23.

"It wasn't there and he kind of checked it" - Dinesh Karthik on Abhishek Sharma's dismissal

Dinesh Karthik backed Abhishek Sharma to continue playing his all-out attacking style despite the lack of conversions to bigger scores. However, the former wicketkeeper advised the youngster to go full throttle without second-guessing himself while playing his shots.

Abhishek was caught at long off in an attempt to check his lofted shot off the bowling of Saim Ayub in the Pakistan clash.

"A player who plays at that tempo obviously always keeps taking risks. And when you keep taking risks, you will make the odd error. The whole ideology is how to keep putting the pressure back on the bowler while still being as calculative and as strong with the shots as possible. The one thing he will tell himself, 'Don't second guess'. If you commit to a shot, go for it. And he did that. He stepped down, it wasn't there and he kind of checked it," said Karthik (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

"Maybe next time, he'll have to play it for a single or go full throttle. 13. Even if it goes higher and he gets caught, it's fine. So you have to give yourself the command and say, 'Don't stop yourself from playing shots but if you commit to a shot, commit fully'. I don't think he'll overthink the situation."

Abhishek Sharma has been impressive in his young T20I career, averaging over 33 at a strike rate of 195.40 in 19 matches.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran