Explosive batter Abhishek Sharma is on the brink of setting a new towering record for the fastest Indian player to reach 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals.
Abhishek Sharma on cusp break Virat Kohli's towering T20I record
He is just 64 runs shy of the milestone as India prepares to face Australia in the third T20I at Hobart on Sunday. With Australia currently leading the five-match series 1-0, India will be focused on leveling the score, and Abhishek will be aiming for another significant contribution to continue his dominant run of form this year. Should Abhishek score the required 64 runs in what would be his 27th match and 26th inning, he will eclipse Indian batting legend Virat Kohli.
Kohli reached the 1,000-run milestone in his 29th T20I and 27th inning against South Africa back in 2010. Currently, in his overall T20I career spanning 26 matches and 25 innings, Abhishek has amassed 936 runs at a remarkable average of 37.44 and an explosive strike rate of over 193.
His tally includes two centuries and six fifties, highlighted by his career-best knock of 135 off 54 balls against England in Mumbai. Abhishek's current form is particularly blistering; in the 14 T20Is he has played this year alone, he has scored 680 runs in 14 innings. His average for 2025 stands at an exceptional 48.57, complemented by an imperious strike rate of 202.98, with one century and five fifties, including the fiery 68 runs he scored off just 37 balls in the previous match against Australia despite wickets falling around him.
Abhishek chasing Shikhar Dhawan's long-standing feat
Beyond the opportunity to surpass Kohli's record, Abhishek has his sights set on another major milestone, i.e breaking Shikhar Dhawan’s record for the most runs scored by an Indian opener in a calendar year. The young left-hander has been in sensational form throughout the 2025 season. The record is well within his reach. In just 14 T20Is this year, Abhishek has already piled up 680 runs at a staggering strike rate of 202.98, establishing himself as one of the most dominant T20 batters globally. He now requires only nine more runs to surpass Dhawan's existing tally of 689 runs, a benchmark set in 2018 across 17 innings. Should Abhishek achieve this feat in the third T20I against Australia, he will also become the fastest Indian opener to reach 700 T20I runs in a single calendar year.