Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has lavished praise on Abhishek Sharma after the opening T20I against New Zealand. India won the opening T20I against New Zealand by 48 runs at Nagpur on Wednesday. Sharma continued his rich form, scoring a blistering knock of 84 runs off just 35 balls with the help of five fours and eight sixes to help India post 238 runs on the board.

The pugnacious southpaw batter completed his fifty off just 22 balls, which is the quickest half-century for an Indian batter in T20Is against New Zealand. Srikkanth said there is a huge difference between Abhishek Sharma and the rest of the Indian players.

“Abhishek Sharma makes a huge difference. In T20 matches, opening is very important. He does not play across, he won’t hit sixes from standing still, but he has a good reach and uses his height well. He is playing very intelligent cricket. He is not going for sixes every ball. There is a huge difference in him and the rest of the Indian cricketers,” Kris Srikkanth said on ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.

Srikkanth added that India is bound to win whenever Abhishek Sharma scores more than 50 runs.

“When Abhishek scores more than 50, the team is bound to win. You don’t need anything else. Every time he scores a 50 India gets to 200. You can bat the opposition out in T20 cricket and India has a gun batting line-up. Everyone at the top can score, Hardik can score, Rinku can score.”

The 1983 World Cup winning player added that India is not dependent on a solitary player and the top six batters are gun.

“If Abhishek gets out early, it can be trouble. I agree. But don’t forget, Ishan Kishan has not clicked yet. If he gets going, he is another Abhishek. When Tilak comes in he will score too. The advantage is that India are not dependent on one player. Surya has not come to full form yet. There is Hardik. The top six are gun,” he said.

The second T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Raipur on Friday.