By Karan Agrawal 
India’s young opening batter Abhishek Sharma scored a breathtaking century in the fifth T20I against England at the iconic Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. The 24-year-old left-hander broke several records in his innings of 135 runs, including the second fastest half-century by an Indian in T20I. Abhishek is now just behind his mentor Yuvraj Singh who holds that record. The former all-rounder scored fifty of just 12 balls in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup against England. Abhishek also holds the record for the second fastest century by an Indian in T20I with World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma taking the top spot. Along with it, Abhishek now has the record for the highest Individual score by an Indian in T20I registered to his name.
The Contribution
Abhishek has also chipped in with useful contributions with his handy left-arm spin to go with his aggressive batting approach in T20 cricket. The under-19 World Cup winner picked up two wickets in the fifth T20I against England after his second T20I century a performance that earned him the player of the match award. Apart from picking up a couple of wickets in the final game of the series Abhishek has been the man with the golden arm who has picked up wickets at crucial juncture for India.
The Suggestion
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh praised Abhishek Sharma for his performance against England and urged him to focus more on his bowling. “I would like to see him bowl more,” said Harbhajan on his Youtube channel. “Right from the beginning I have been telling him that his seam position is very good. He doesn’t work as hard on bowling as he does on batting. Even today whenever I meet him I tell him about his bowling because batting is his first love, and he will work on that. He can work on his bowling, he has all the qualities required to be a good leg spinner,” said Harbhajan.
The Ability
Harbhajan compared Abhishek to Travis Head, Virender Sehwag, and Viv Richards in terms of his ability to take the game away from the opposition. “On his day, he just takes the game away. Travis Head does it, Virender Sehwag used to do it, Viv Richards used to do it. These kinds of players are the ones who take the game forward,” said Harbhajan. The former off-spinner was also optimistic about Abhishek getting a chance in Test cricket soon. “Today or tomorrow, his chance will come in Test cricket. You always need a player of the Sehwag mold in Test cricket who comes, smashes, and takes the game away. That can be Abhishek Sharma,” said Harbhajan.