‘Ready on the first ball’: Virender Sehwag gives his take on Abhishek Sharma’s knock against Pakistan

With India registering a brilliant win against Pakistan in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, the performance of ace batter Abhishek Sharma was one that stood out the most. The swashbuckling opening batter took the attack to Pakistan right from the get-go and scored 74 runs in 39 deliveries as India chased down a target of 172 with ease. 

Witnessing Abhishek’s performance against Pakistan, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag recently came forward and heaped massive praise on the star opener. He talked about how always being ready to go big from the very first ball should be a batter’s approach, and Abhishek follows it very closely. 

“I always say that you should be ready on the first ball because the bowler can bowl a warm-up delivery. The bowler tries to open up his body, and he can bowl a loose ball in such a scenario, and Abhishek Sharma is ready from the first ball, that he would hit if it’s in his area,” Sehwag told Sony Sports. 

“He saw a short ball and pulled it because the fine leg was up. Even if he had been behind, it would have been a six. If the bowler bowls full, he hits straight. He won’t spare you if you don’t bowl at the right spot,” he added. 

Sehwag further praised Abhishek’s performance

Furthermore, Sehwag also added that the bowlers are scared to face Abhishek Sharma and talked about how difficult it is to maintain a strike rate above 200 after consistently playing many matches in the shortest format of the game. 

“The biggest thing is that his strike rate is close to 200. You can maintain a strike rate of 200 in one, two, or five matches, but he has played a lot of matches. It’s slightly difficult to maintain a strike rate of 200 in so many matches, but he is doing that extremely well. The bowlers are scared of him, as to where they should bowl to him. It’s fine if they get him out, but it’s a problem if they don’t,” he said.