Brian Lara has recently complimented young Indian hitter Abhishek Sharma in regards to his ambition to stand up and play test cricket against India. Despite having played in 24 T20Is only and still having not made his debut in the ODI or the Test, Abhishek has already created a big impact in the shortest format through two centuries and regular playing.
Lara described Abhishek as a fantastic young player and he betrays that his batting resembles that of Yuvraj Singh, his coach. The West Indies myth also told me that he has become very attached to Abhishek, and he likes the way the left-hander has labored to better his game and become a better all-round batter.
“I know Abhishek from my time at SRH. I was there during the Covid years (batting coach and strategic advisor in 2022 and head coach in 2023). He is an amazing young player and I think he is something very special. Yuvraj Singh has had a big influence on him — his bat speed, the way he hits the ball, the way he plays through the line. You can see the Yuvraj effect in him,” stated Lara, as quoted by India Today.
“He gives me a call once in a while, and what stands out is that despite his success in T20s, he still wants to find a way to get into the Test team, which is great. For someone like that to think so big is very special. I don’t have a soft spot per se, but I’ve grown very fond of him. It’s great to see how much he has improved and how far he has come. He’s taken his game to another level.”
Brian Lara
Abhishek Sharma has 24 First-Class matches in which he has scored 1071 runs with an average of close to 30. He has recently completed an effective Asia Cup 2025 mission with India. Abhishek was the winner of the Player of the Tournament award having made 314 runs on a strike rate of 200 in seven matches. The Amritsar resident just made his few appearances playing for India A at the home matches with the visiting Australian team. His second global travel will be a T20I series with Australia.
