Ravichandran Ashwin urges ODI debut for this India batter after top performance in 2025

Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin feels that Abhishek Sharma was the side's standout performer in 2025 despite only playing in T20Is. He credited the left-hand batter for changing the team's batting approach in the shortest format and even predicted him to be crowned as the men's cricketer of the year.

He further urged the selectors to consider Abhishek for ODIs, a format where he is yet to make his debut. With him having not played a lot of List A cricket in his career, it will be interesting to see as to how will the 25-year-old perform if given an opportunity on the international stage.

"It's not just the arrival of Abhishek Sharma, but the arrival of India's next generation X-factor player. If there is one player who has been the best for India in 2025, it has to be him. He has batted really well. He has reimagined India's powerplay batting and has been exceptional. I would love to see him in the ODI format as well. I think he will probably be the Men's team player of the year," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

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2025 proved to be a superb year for Abhishek. At the beginning of the year, he didn't even have a confirmed spot in India's T20I set-up, but his stellar performances in the format saw him become a regular. Abhishek's performance only got better as the year progressed and he even went on to play a key role in India's Asia Cup triumph. He has now become one of the Men in Blue's most important players in the shortest format.

Abhishek's superb numbers in 2025

Abhishek finished the year as India's top run-getter in T20Is with 859 runs from 21 matches. He scored a century and five half-centuries, maintaining a phenomenal strike-rate of 193.46. His next assignment will be the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand that will commence from January 21. The batter is also expected to play an important role for the team in the 2026 T20 World Cup that will begin from February 7.

Abhishek's performance in VHT

Meanwhile, Abhishek is captaining Punjab in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has featured in two out of three rounds of the domestic tournament so far and the team has recorded a win and a loss each under his leadership.