Fear. That’s the word. A simple four letter word that horrifies the mind, discomforts one the moment it is taken and turns the good into bad. Rather regrettable. We’ve seen, across decades and decades of human existence, the word coming to life.
The Ukrainian-Russia war, for instance. The fear that one has for his life when he’s at the border. Prior to that, the horrifying events at Chernobyl and before that, the Hiroshima Nagasaki disaster. Countless lives ravaged, which was an afterthought in front of the seeing death come staring straight into the confirmed victims’ eyes. Imagine how horrifying could that state of fear be?
But away from the nasty and irreversible geopolitical tensions and blow ups, the word fear is very much relevant on the cricket field and strikes the minds of those who see a certain young man wielding the bat right in front, as if almost preparing to strike them hard and fast. That man is Abhishek Sharma, the enforcer of fear into the minds of bowlers who come running into him perhaps knowing that even the tiniest of mistakes would leave him to smash them away into the stands.
However, his causing fear into the minds of bowlers, whether spin or pace, is exactly the kind of good news that India needs of its brilliant and incredible talent.
Just two innings, if not more, submit enough evidence of how Abhishek Sharma operates like how John Wick does during a mission of assassination. Just that instead of the rattling sound of the gun, Abhishek Sharma operates with a weapon that’s got nothing to do with mechanised or metallic ways of functioning.
He concerns himself with something woody in nature.
It’s the cricket bat. The word that rhymes with the phrase stat and if you combine the two in the reference of the left hander, you realise how Abhishek Sharma is impacting Indian cricket.
A little over half a year ago, Abhishek went to Zimbabwe for his maiden T20I series for the country and took just 47-odd-deliveries to score a sparkling 100 runs.
His strike rate on that occasion was 212.
The noted African nation got to realise the young cricketer looking to become a sensational face in India’s top order meant business.
Then, next up, against England in February earlier this year, he didn’t compile but smash a 37-ball-hundred.
Having not even turned 25 yet, this smiling cricketer has 2 T20I tons to his name.
He is what cricket needs in this day and age. He defines the freedom with which batters like to play. He’s the tempo that makes T20 batting such a joyride both for commentators inside salubrious commentary comes and fans outside in the ground or on their handsets and gadgets.
Abhishek Sharma is audacious. And quite frankly, he is unstoppable. Take his IPL 2025 hundred for SRH as an example. Travis Hess may be a dangerous batter and is. But the real deal for Hyderabad this time around was Abhishek’s smouldering 40-ball-hundred.
Now you come to think of it as being a great knock for it was, especially since it came against the IPL 2025 finalists.
But it’s not just the big runs he hits that make him such a delight to watch. It’s the easygoing nature with which he makes them. Something his hero from the cricketing world, Yuvraj Singh, who’s closely mentored him was and is always known for. The instinct for dominating bowlers bearing a resemblance to one of Abhishek Sharma’s biggest believers and confidants, Brian Charles Lara.
Well, the left handers have given us so much and since so many years, haven’t they?
Runs. Ballistic knocks. The fact that they’ve conveyed an essence of style with each beautiful stroke they play and what could be better than knowing each of these three left handers have this very trait in common.
Style. Bravado and forget not, the element of FEAR with which they’ve hammered bowlers, who’ve often been world class.
Keep going, Abhishek Sharma. India and cricket on the whole, need more of you. Keep growing.
Keep striking fear into the minds of India’s opponents.
image: Mr Abhishek Sharma’s instagram handle
