Not Shubman Gill Or Yashasvi Jaiswal! Australia Greats Picks Young Star As India’s Most Important Batter: ‘Hardly Plays…’ | Cricket News

India are currently on a white-ball tour of Australia. (AFP Photo)

India’s next generation of batters has well and truly taken over the charge, with a series of talented rising stars continuing to prove their worth across formats. With the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the twilight of their international careers, a bunch of youngsters including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, among others, have shown immense potential.

As of now, Gill is the only regular batter for India in all three formats, while Jaiswal, despite his breathtaking display in red-ball cricket and in IPL, is still waiting in the wings to get a regular run in limited-overs cricket. On the other hand, Abhishek has certainly established himself as the most entertaining T20I batter with his fearless approach and ability to go after the bowlers from the first ball itself.

For former Australia bowler, Abhishek is currently the “most important batter” for India, at least in T20Is, given how he has owned the format ever since making his debut last year.

In 27 innings, the 25-year-old has racked up 961 runs at a stunning strike-rate of 192.20. He has two centuries and six fifties to his name, and his best individual score of 135 is also the best by an Indian in the format’s history.

“He’s (Abhishek) going at about two runs per ball,” Damien Fleming said on Fast Bowling Cartel YouTube channel. “He hits them to all different angles. I looked up his record. He has hardly played any first-class cricket. He doesn’t even play a lot of 50-over domestic cricket and still hasn’t played a 50-over game for India. But he’s just about their most important batter. This is like the new generation IPL player that just comes in and dominates one form, which is T20 cricket.”

Australia’s fast bowling great Jason Gillespie agreed and labelled Abhishek an “excitement machine” who tries to put the bowlers under the pump from the first ball itself.

“He (Abhishek) just goes out there and is aggressive. He runs at the first ball and just looks to put pressure on the opposition. He’s an excitement machine and the anticipation of him walking out can be seen in the last couple of games,” Gillespie said.