Fearless and fierce: Abhishek Sharma’s Asia Cup batting masterclass

Before the Asia Cup 2025 started, there were a lot of speculations about the role India had designated to dashing opener Abhishek Sharma.

A tremendously talented youngster who showed what he was capable of in the earlier series did hog the limelight. Touted as the next big destroyer for the Men in Blue, he was unsurprisingly handed the opening slot.

In the first couple of matches, Sharma did get the starts but couldn’t really turn the thrusters on. Against UAE, the runs on the board weren’t too many and against Pakistan, he did chip away at a good portion of the runs that were needed for India to win before he fell.

He also looked good against Oman, coming in hot at the top. However, his juggernaut came to a halt at just 38.

He was gearing up for the Super Fours and just when everyone started feeling that this youngster might have a challenge in transitioning into the second phase of his innings while hammering the bowlers, he was ready to dish out one of his signature rampages.

Come Pakistan in the Super Fours and they had enough in the bank. India needed to script history if they were to shoot down the total of 172. It was Abhishek who effaced all possible fears and misgivings in the minds of the Indian fans. He rocked and rolled like none other. He hammered and sliced like none other. Striking Shaheen Afridi for a six on the very first ball and that too off a bouncer, he made his intentions crystal clear.

From thereon, it was only an ascent to the pinnacle of glory. The following game against Bangladesh saw him unleashing his inner beast once again. Smashing 75 off just 37 balls, he headlined the Indian battery with the bat in his hands. Absolutely fearless in his approach, Sharma was ruthless, relentless and merciless as he smashed the cherry over and over again to the ropes.

Sri Lanka was no different when it came to being at the receiving end of Abhishek Sharma’s stick. He deployed a similar stance, whacking the bowlers in his own signature fashion. A third consecutive fifty for Sharma saw India getting off to a flying start, the podium that was used adeptly by the Men in Blue to cross the 200-run mark for the first time in the latest iteration of the tournament.

The final didn’t really go his way as he fell early to a slower delivery. However, that did very little to take away the limelight from the hard-hitting southpaw. There are often whispers that Sharma’s aggressive stance in the opening slot rekindles memories of Virender Sehwag while fans also believe that he has taken to his mentor, Yuvraj Singh in almost identical fashion. When the pressure keeps on mounting, he has this knack of counterattacking the bowlers while his fearless approach is another standout factor for this young kid.

The 2025 Asia Cup which witnessed Abhishek Sharma finishing as the leading run-scorer with 314 runs at a strike rate of 200 and an average of 44.85 was the forthcoming of a star-in-the-making. From those extraordinary hoicks to those textbook cover drives, Sharma redefined the art of batting in the powerplay, a talent that will keep the world on their heels in the upcoming days.