Abhishek Sharma Eyes World Cup Glory After Successful Australia Tour

Abhishek Sharma's current rank as the world's number one T20I batter on the ICC Player Rankings is an exceptional achievement for the youngster.

Abhishek Sharma Eyes World Cup Glory After Successful Australia Tour

Abhishek Sharma aims to win the 2026 T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka. (via NDTV Sports)

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Ace Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who has been a rising star in the shortest format of the game, opened up about his dreams with the Men in Blue. After a successful T20I series against Australia, Sharma shared his ambition of winning the 2026 T20 World Cup.

At 25, Abhishek Sharma has turned out to be the unchallenged number one T20I batter in the world. He had already created history during the 2025 Asia Cup, achieving the highest-ever rating points (931) on the ICC T20I Batting rankings. He finished with 314 runs in seven innings at an average of 44.86 in the Asia Cup, and even outperformed his peers in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia.

Once again, Sharma finished as the highest run-getter for the Men in Blue, with 163 runs in five innings at an average of 40.75. This makes it the third T20I series in a row that the 25-year-old opener has finished with the most runs for his team. Speaking after winning the Player of the Series award, at the end of 2-1 series victory for India, Sharma shared how excited he was about playing in Australia, given it was his first tour Down Under.

He noted the batting-friendly surfaces of the country, suggesting that the Indian team could have done better. With the T20I World Cup just months away and with the left-handed all-rounder a sure-shot selection in the playing XI, Abhishek Sharma exclaimed that he has always dreamt about playing for India at a World Cup, since a young child, also highlighted his readiness for the tournament. He said after the match:

It’s one of the biggest tournaments [2026 T20 World Cup]. It’s my dream come true moment if I’ll be playing the World Cup. As a kid, I’ve always dreamt about this, winning the World Cup and winning matches for my country.

The 2026 T20 World Cup, to be played in India and Sri Lanka, features 20 teams, among which Italy will be the lone debutant. Sharma, meanwhile, also heaped praise specifically on Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood, whom he labeled as a ‘world-class’ player. The Punjab-born all-rounder added that he prepared himself to face such ‘world-class’ bowlers, in order to do well in the coming days.

The way he [Josh Hazlewood] was bowling, it was beneficial for any team. I’ve said before that I always enjoy the battle between batters and bowlers. He’s a world-class bowler… I was practicing for these kind of bowlers only because that’s how you’re going to do well for your team.

Sharma is next playing for India A in the three unofficial ODIs against South Africa A at home, while the senior team will be indulged in a red-ball series against the same opposition. The left-handed opener will be returning to the T20I setup against the Proteas, next month. 

Abhishek Sharma surpasses Suryakumar Yadav, sets new T20I benchmark

Indian T20I star Abhishek Sharma continued his impressive run, this time etching his name in history books with a new feat. The 25-year-old opener became the fastest batter to hit 1,000 runs in T20Is, in terms of the number of balls that he has faced throughout his career.

Abhishek Sharma 1,000 runs
Abhishek Sharma became the fastest player to reach 1,000 in T20Is. (via Hindustan Times)

He recorded this feat in the final T20I of the five-match series against Australia in Brisbane. While the match was washed out by rain and ended in no-result, the opener remained unbeaten till the end, scoring 23 runs off 13 balls, in the 4.5 overs that was played in the day. He was assisted by Shubman Gill from the other end, who scored 29 runs off 16 balls, hitting six boundaries, propelling India’s score to 52 runs. 

In achieving this new record, Sharma shattered the previous mark held by his teammate Suryakumar Yadav, who had reached the 1,000-run milestone in 573 balls. The Punjab-born batter accomplished the feat in 528 deliveries, and now stands on top. The list of fastest batters to 1,000 T20I runs is completed by Phil Salt (599 balls), Glenn Maxwell (604 balls), and Andre Russell and Finn Allen (both 609 balls).

Beyond his achievement, Sharma also combined with Shubman Gill to establish a new T20I record for batting partnerships on Australian soil. The pair accumulated a total of 188 runs in the series, setting a new benchmark for the most runs scored by any pair in T20I matches played in the country.

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