India’s latest debutant Abhishek Sharma smashed a maiden century in his second T20I match at Harare while playing with Zimbabwe on 7 July. This helped India score the highest score of 234 runs off 2 wickets in Zimbabwe and defeat the home tram by 100 runs.
The 23-year-old left handed all rounder and striking opener may have managed to make the right noise, but he should be well aware that he will have to complete with Yashasvi Jaiswal who already made a big name in the Indian cricket as opener.
Jaiswal, who was stuck in Barbados due to Hurricane Beryl after the T20 World Cup 2024, missed the first two T20I matches against Zimbabwe. But now he has returned and it is expected that he will open with skipper Shubman Gill for the rest of T20I matches at Harare.
Jaiswal was even part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in Barbados. However, he didn’t get a chance to bat for India, as skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid kept almost the same playing XI all through the tournament.
India won the T20 World Cup 2024 as unbeaten team as they defeated South Africa by 7 runs in the finals on 29 June at Barbados.
Meanwhile, former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower opined that in the transition phase of Indian cricket team, one thing that need to be looked at is the opening slot competition between Jaiswal and Sharma.
“Well, we have got Jaiswal still coming into the series, haven’t we? So that sort of competition is exactly what the Indian selectors and all the Indian followers are looking for. It makes it really interesting and it’s great for the Indian game if they have got lots of options like that,” Flower said on Sony Sports.
Flower was impressed with Abhishek’s maiden century on 7 July against Zimbabwe and gave credit to his IPL performance.
“He should be confident at the moment coming off such a great IPL and then getting a hundred in his second international match. So what a great start. It’s really important to get those runs as a young player because confidence and self-belief are so important to your chance of doing well. So I am very happy for him and I am looking forward to seeing more of him in this series,” Flower added.
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Published: 09 Jul 2024, 04:11 PM IST