![JMA – Ninja & Deep Jandu [Official MV] Kaptaan](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-dsfIh319s0/maxresdefault.jpg "JMA – Ninja & Deep Jandu [Official MV] Kaptaan")
- India secured a dominant 3-0 T20I series win over Afghanistan.
- Abhishek Sharma scored a blistering 30-ball century in the final match.
- Former cricketer Tanvir Ahmed compared Abhishek’s raw talent to Yuvraj Singh.
India wrapped up a dominant 3-0 T20I series victory over Afghanistan in the Friendship Cup, with Abhishek Sharma producing a stunning display in the final game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The left-hander raced to a 16-ball half-century before completing a remarkable century from just 30 deliveries. Abhishek’s extraordinary hitting once again brought attention to his immense potential in the shortest format. After the match, former Pakistan cricketer Tanvir Ahmed revisited an earlier assessment he had made about the young Indian batsman, insisting that he had once placed Abhishek above his mentor, Yuvraj Singh, in terms of raw talent.
Tanvir Ahmed Recalls Bold Abhishek-Yuvraj Comparison
Yuvraj remains one of the most destructive white-ball batsmen India has produced and also played a key role as a mentor to Abhishek during the latter’s development.
However, Tanvir said that his earlier comparison was based on talent rather than an attempt to diminish Yuvraj’s achievements.
“You might remember that when he came to the team for the first time, I said that he is a bigger player than Yuvraj Singh. He has more talent than Yuvraj Singh.”
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Tanvir went on to stress that players should be judged within the context of their respective eras.
The former Pakistan cricketer pointed out that every generation produces its own stars, while making it clear that his assessment of Abhishek was specifically about the qualities he sees in the youngster.
“Everyone comes at their own time, and he becomes a legend, a hero, and a superstar at that time. I spoke according to talent.”
Abhishek’s Power-Hitting Stands Out
Tanvir Ahmed then highlighted the difficulty of producing explosive shots from the very beginning of an innings, particularly when fielding restrictions are in place.
“Whenever Yuvraj Singh used to bat, he used to come down and, after getting set at the crease. Then Yuvraj Singh used to hit the spinners and the fast bowlers. Yuvraj Singh has a world record of six sixes against Stuart Broad, but I said that his (Abhishek Sharma’s) backlift, his shots, or hitting with a new ball in the circle is not an easy task.”
The young opener has developed a reputation for taking on bowlers during the Powerplay, and his latest innings against Afghanistan provided another example of that approach.
Not only did he race to a century, but India also got to the three-figures in the Powerplay itself.
The comparison with Yuvraj is inevitably a huge one given the latter’s status in Indian cricket. Yuvraj was a key figure in major limited-overs triumphs and established himself as a match-winner over many years.
For now, Abhishek’s career remains in its early stages, but performances such as his blistering century against Afghanistan explain why former players are already discussing his ceiling and the kind of impact he could have in the years ahead.
