Damien Fleming Names Abhishek Sharma as India’s Most Important Batter in T20 Cricket

Australia’s Damien Fleming has called Abhishek Sharma India’s most important T20 batter, praising his explosive strike rate and consistent performances.

India’s new generation of batters has begun shaping the team’s future, with stars like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma making a strong impression across formats. Gill remains India’s only consistent three-format batter, while Jaiswal continues to push for a regular place in limited-overs cricket.

Abhishek, meanwhile, has quickly become India’s most explosive T20I batter, known for his aggressive intent and clean hitting.

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Former Australia cricketer Damien Fleming has heaped praise on Abhishek Sharma for his batting in T20Is. Fleming described the 25-year-old as India’s most important batter in the format.

“He’s (Abhishek) going at about two runs per ball. 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,” Damien Fleming said on Fast Bowling Cartel YouTube channel.

Gillespie Calls Abhishek Sharma An ‘Excitement Machine’

Former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie then praised Abhishek Sharma for his fearless batting style, calling him one of the most exciting young players to watch.

“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.

Notably, the 25-year-old has scored 961 runs in 27 innings at a strike rate of 192.20, including two centuries and six fifties. His highest score of 135 remains the best individual T20I knock by an Indian player.