Ravi Shastri hails Abhishek Sharma after heroic knock vs NZ, backs him to deliver in T20 World Cup

Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri believes that Abhishek Sharma can turn out to be the most impactful player of the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup. This comes after the batter continued his blistering form in the shortest format and smacked 84 runs against New Zealand in the first T20I. He played a key role in the Men in Blue setting up a mammoth total of 238/7 on the board after 20 overs.

Shastri's praise for Abhishek

Seeing his superb form, Shastri remarked that Abhishek could play a key role in India's T20 World Cup campaign. He highlighted how the left-hand batter took the game away from the Kiwis and added that with the home crowd behind him, he can help India "take off".

“Abhishek, without a shadow of a doubt. (He’s the) No. 1 T20 batsman in the world (and is) in a rich vein of form. Last evening (on Wednesday), he took the game away from New Zealand. You’ve got to watch out for him because his confidence level is high. He’ll be backed by the home crowd, and if he takes off, it means India takes off," Shastri said when asked who would be the most impactful player in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

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Abhishek is currently the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world and his form has been nothing short of sensational. The 26-year-old cemented his place in India's T20I set-up with phenomenal batting performances in early 2025. He went on to be the highest-scorer for the Men in Blue in the format during the year with 859 runs from 21 matches. He has started 2026 on a high and will be looking to maintain his red-hot form in the T20 World Cup as well.

India's T20 WC campaign to commence soon

The ongoing T20I series against New Zealand will be India's final assignment before the World Cup begins from February 7. Suryakumar Yadav & Co. have been drawn in Group A alongside the likes of Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan and USA. They will begin their campaign with the clash against USA on February 7 at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

India's squad for 20226 T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku SIngh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan