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"I truly believe...": Ashwin opens up on Abhishek Sharma's learning curve under Lara

Arunima Purohit

Abhishek Sharma and Brian Lara [Source: @cutshotcricket/X]Abhishek Sharma and Brian Lara [Source: @cutshotcricket/X]

India's star opener and No. 1-ranked T20I batter Abhishek Sharma was the lone warrior for the team during the 2nd match against Australia in Melbourne. On the surface where all the Indian batters struggled, Abhishek stood tall with his magnificent 68-run knock. His knock helped India get past the 100-run mark in the first innings. 

R Ashwin on Brian Lara-Abhishek connection

Although India lost the match by four wickets, Abhishek's knock was the only positive from the Indian side. Meanwhile, after the game, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin talked about Abhishek on his YouTube channel and showered praise on him. 

Calling Abhishek a 'superstar', Ashwin mentioned that the left-hander has a challenge to overcome, which he can learn from the former Windies legend Brian Lara.

"I truly believe, man, that the next batting superstar of India is Abhishek Sharma," Ashwin said. "See, he doesn't have a problem exactly, not a problem, but a challenge. His challenge is to be able to control that downswing. I was reading somewhere that he still talks to Brian Lara because Lara had a huge backlift. His bat swing was magnificent too, so Abhishek spoke to Lara about controlling that bat swing to be able to play Test cricket."

R Aswhin impressed with Abhishek adapting to tough conditions

Ashwin also analyzed Abhishek's power-hitting abilities, even under harsh conditions and against quality bowling. The left-handed batter played some incredible shots throughout the game and maintained a brilliant strike rate, which was impressive. He dominated the Australian bowling attack when the others struggled. 

"He actually stepped out today, charged down the track, and Australia bowled really well too. They were bowling tight lines, fuller lengths, taking the pace off. But that full ball, especially when you charge at a fast bowler and they try to bowl a yorker, you don't have the width to free your arms. Yet, he was still able to open up his arms and hit it over the covers for a boundary."

We might not see Abhishek donning the Indian Test jersey very soon, but he's already shattering records in the shortest format, which can help him get a spot in the ODI format as well. The 25-year-old batter will be back in action in the 3rd T20I against Australia on November 2 in Hobart.