"I see Abhishek Sharma’s game rising" – Former opener lauds swashbuckling batter for incredible consistency in Asia Cup 2025 post IND vs PAK match

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has lauded World No.1-ranked T20I batter Abhishek Sharma for his incredible consistency at the Asia Cup 2025. The cricketer-turned-commentator showered his praise on the opener for scoring 30+ scores in all his appearances in the ongoing continental tournament.

The statement came as Abhishek slammed a quickfire 74 runs off 39 balls, including five sixes and six boundaries against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash on Sunday, September 21. During his knock, the left-hander stitched a 105-run partnership with his opening partner, Shubman Gill.

With 173 runs in four innings, Abhishek Sharma is currently the leading run-getter in the T20 tournament. The 25-year-old had earlier slammed 30 (16), 31 (13), and 38 (15) against the UAE, Pakistan, and Oman, respectively, in Asia Cup 2025 group stage matches.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Chopra said:

“Yes, I see Abhishek Sharma’s game rising. Because today, actually, I mean, it’s now his fourth consecutive 30+ score, and this is something that T20 has taught us that 30 is that milestone when you start celebrating with Suryakumar Yadav scoring 13 or 14, almost 30+ scores, and you say, ‘Wow! That’s brilliant.’ That’s consistency, so this is his fourth score when every single innings has come at 200 strike rates, barring this one, actually, this was 190… Why is he there? I mean, no total is too big or too far away from India’s reach.”

Chopra further lauded the openers as India got off to a flier against Pakistan while chasing 172. He continued:

“The two of them, the way they started. Just the quality of batting, the skill on display. The domination with which both of them have operated it’s of a very, very high class.”

“Shubman Gill should be appreciated” – Aakash Chopra reacts as vice-captain returns to form with 47 against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 battle

Akash Chopra further heaped his praise on Shubman Gill for his 47 runs off 28 balls, comprising eight boundaries against the Men in Green in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 game. The 48-year-old credited the vice-captain for playing at a similar strike rate as Abhishek Sharma despite his orthodox batting. He said in the same video:

“Of course, Abhishek Sharma will be the one who’ll be talked about a bit for his sixes-hitting abilities, but Shubman Gill should also be appreciated and is celebrated today, actually. Because if Abhishek takes the aerial route, Shubman Gill is someone who plays along the ground and tells you that you can still score at the rate of noughts, and you can actually, might Abhishek Sharma not almost shot to shot but with the strike rate. So, it was some batting performance that completely decimated whatever Pakistan was trying to do.”

“Gill is someone who’s a proper batter. He’s someone who’s technically so good. He’s someone who scores a lot of runs in Test cricket. So, when T20 cricket is played at a different level in a very different brand, will he actually take it to fish like water? He says, ‘Yes. I’ll lift my game, I’ll adapt and adopt a different style, and still be very good,” he added.

With his 47-run knock, Shubman Gill returned to form after managing 10 and five in the last two games against Pakistan and Oman in the Asia Cup 2025 group-stage fixtures.

Meanwhile, the Men in Blue beat the Salman Agha-led side by six wickets with seven balls to spare. They will next face Bangladesh at the same venue on Wednesday, September 24.