Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Indian opener Abhishek Sharma said he has been trying to follow in former India captain Rohit Sharma’s footsteps with his attacking approach, while admitting that he does not consider himself “fully mature” as a batter yet.Abhishek began the home series against New Zealand — India’s final bilateral assignment ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup — in emphatic fashion, smashing a blistering 35-ball 84 that included five fours and eight sixes to power India to a match-winning total of 238/7. The left-hander has been in outstanding form since last year, amassing 943 runs in 22 matches and innings at an average of 44.90 and a strike rate of 196.86, with one century, six half-centuries and a highest score of 135.
Speaking on Cricket Live, Abhishek said he believes there is always “room to improve” in his batting.“I would not say I am fully matured yet, because there is always room to improve. But I feel my job is to play aggressive cricket in the first six overs. I have been practicing a lot for that. I know if I give a good start or show good intent early, the team can follow that momentum. That is what I always think about,” he added.The 23-year-old also spoke about the influence of T20 World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma, revealing that skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir wanted him to put opposition bowlers under pressure in a similar manner.“Rohit bhai has done a lot for the country. There is always pressure because of the starts he used to give in the powerplay. When I came into the team, the coach and captain wanted the same from me. I felt it suited my style too because I love to attack from the first few balls. So, I think I have been following in Rohit bhai’s footsteps, and I am really happy to play in this manner and do well for India,” he said.Abhishek explained that his aggressive intent is backed by meticulous preparation ahead of matches.“When I get a week or ten days, I keep in mind the bowlers I will face in the next series or matches. It all comes down to how I execute those plans. For the upcoming T20 World Cup, I have been practicing for that too. I know we will play all over India in different conditions against different teams, so preparation is key,” he said.“I feel I have to play this way because in most teams, the main bowlers bowl the first few overs. If I score runs in those overs, it helps the team follow that momentum. It also puts the bowlers under pressure. Once that happens, I feel they are playing into my plan, and I can execute it,” he said.SQUADS:India Squad: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep YadavNew Zealand Squad: Devon Conway (w), Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, James Neesham, Matt Henry, Michael Bracewell, Zakary Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs.
