 "Abhishek Sharma could soon be fighting with Rohit Sharma for opening slot in ODIs. Images: Reuters/Abhishek Nayar/Instagram")
After dazzling with the bat for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), rising star Abhishek Sharma is now stamping his authority on international cricket. It was exactly a year ago in Zimbabwe where the young opening batter from Punjab made his maiden appearance for India, slamming a whirlwind century in just his second appearance .
Abhishek has barely missed a T20I since his debut, having amassed 783 runs at an incredible strike rate of 197.92, collecting two centuries and four half-centuries along the way. He’s also the standout batter in the ongoing Asia Cup , where he has scored 248 runs so far at an average and strike rate of 49.60 and 206.67, respectively.
Impressed with his incredible run in the 20-over format for his IPL franchise, where he has formed a destructive opening partnership with Australian opener Travis Head, the Indian team management is now looking to draft the 25-year-old into One-Day Internationals, keeping the 2027 ICC World Cup in mind.
According to The Times of India, Abhishek could be rewarded with a 50-over call-up as early as October, when India tour Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is, having impressed the team management as well as selectors enough at this point.
End of the road for the ‘Hitman’?
The one-day leg of the trip Down Under gets underway on 19 October, and the squads are expected to be announced soon. However, Abhishek’s likely inclusion begs the question – whom will he replace in the playing XI, assuming he’s to be drafted right away and not just included in the squad as a reserve?
Shubman Gill, for starters, had made his ODI debut at the No 3 spot in January 2019 – when Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan still were the Men in Blue’s preferred opening pair in the format. Gill, however, has batted at one-down just four more times in the six-and-a-half years that have passed since then, most recently in the first ODI against England in February, in which Yashasvi Jaiswal made his maiden – and till date only – appearance in the format.
And with Rohit and Gill having been the first-choice opening pair for India in recent years, including in the 2023 Asia Cup and the ICC World Cup, one can’t help but wonder if Abhishek is being seen as Rohit’s replacement in the ODI setup .
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The Hitman had retired from Twenty20 Internationals last year and had quit Test cricket in May, with fellow legend Virat Kohli quitting the two formats at the same time. Rohit remains the ODI captain for the time being and has made his intentions clear that he wants to continue leading India in the 50-over format till the 2027 World Cup.
Rohit’s weight loss pic goes viral
With Abhishek in the picture, however, there certainly is a giant question mark over the 38-year-old’s future as far as the Indian team is concerned.
Conincidentally, the news of Abhishek being considered for the ODI squad came on a day when Rohit’s story of losing 10kg went viral on social media on Wednesday.
The picture of Rohit from a gym was shared by former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on Instagram, where he claimed the batter has lost 10kg, indicating that the opener is aiming to make a return to the Indian ODI team and possibly also play until the 2027 World Cup.