Ex-England Great Wants Abhishek Sharma To “Keep the Aura” Despite Risky Style of Play

Kevin Pietersen acknowledged the risk that comes with the batting style of Abhishek Sharma as he advised the batter to stay fearless forever.

Ex-England Great Wants Abhishek Sharma To “Keep the Aura” Despite Risky Style of Play

Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma (via NDTV Sports) and Kevin Pietersen (via Cricket Addictor)

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Abhishek Sharma has become the latest entrant in India’s rich batting lineage. His aggressive style is something that puts him apart from a boatload of cricketers and also brings an air of freshness to the viewers.

Sharma has lit up the ongoing Asia Cup with his batting and has shown how dangerous he can be even if he stays at the crease for just 10 balls. In his recent match against Pakistan, Sharma took on the likes of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf and sent their balls to the cleaners.

He scored a fantastic 74 of just 39 balls. He started his knock with a first ball six off Afridi’s bowling and set the tone right from ball one. English batter Kevin Pietersen took to X to show the admiration he had for the young left-hander, raining praises on him.

Pietersen in his tweet warned the fans that Sharma’s dismissals in future may look stupid and unnecessary but one must embrace them too as the batter bats with a certain element of risk. He also mentioned that he wants the batter to play with this freedom forever and keep this ‘Aura’ around him for a long time too.

Abhishek Sharma is NEXT LEVEL. He’s the type of player that will fail and look so stupid doing it, BUT, he’ll bring smiles and joy to MILLIONS of people throughout his career as he bangs bowlers all over the world.
His eye is something else! Keep the AURA, buddy!

Kevin Pietersen via X

Pietersen himself was an aggressive batter like Abhishek Sharma in his days with England. The legendary English batter would often get into big battles with the likes of Shane Warne, Mitchell Johnson and many bowlers around the world.

Abhishek Sharma accuses Pakistani bowlers of personal attacks during Super 4 match against India

Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill were involved in a war of words with the Pakistani pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf during the second innings when India had come out to chase the 172 set by Pakistan.

Right from ball one when Abhishek Sharma hit Shaheen Afridi for six over fine leg one could see the tension building. Rauf’s spell added more drama as he instigated the batting pair further with both batters coming back hard with replies of their own.

Abhishek Sharma and Haris Rauf get involved in heated argument during Asia Cup.
Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Haris Rauf (via NDTV Sports)

As it turned out, both Gill and Sharma brought up a match winning opening stand of 105 in less than 10 overs and diffused any words of aggression from their opponents with the help of their skill.

Sharma stated that the Pakistani bowlers made personal comments that triggered the Indian opening pair to get back at them. However, it is unclear if any one particular bowler made any such personal comments or whether it was the whole team.

I felt today was the day to bring out such a performance. Personally, I didn’t like how they were making personal attacks after every ball. I felt it was important to give an answer to them. This is not how you play cricket. Shubman and I just had a chat that we will give an answer after winning the match.

Abhishek Sharma via Sony Sports Network

However, the battle ended in the way both Gill and Sharma had planned as they both made the big final responses with their bat scoring match winning contributions as India humbled Pakistan by 6 wickets and for the second time in this Asia Cup. This is also the seventh consecutive win that India have achieved over Pakistan in white ball cricket.

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