'There was calmness to the way he played'- Daniel Vettori sees shades of Chris Gayle in Abhishek Sharma

A few emerging batters have made their presence felt in the ongoing IPL 2022 with one of them being the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s young sensation Abhishek Sharma. Sharma showcased a fearless intent during the last game against the Gujarat Titans where he amassed 65 runs off 42 deliveries at a strike rate of nearly 155. It was his aggressive batting against star leggie Rashid Khan that stood out the most.

Focusing on that aspect, former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori has said that he sees shades of the Caribbean power-hitter Chris Gayle in Abhishek Sharma. Giving further clarification on the same, Vettori also added that the youngster showed a great amount of calmness during his innings and at the same time also read Rashid’s lengths really well.

And it felt like Abhishek Sharma picked up the length: Daniel Vettori

“There was a calmness to the way he played. And it felt like he picked up the length. You talk about the great players and their ability to pick up the length, and as soon as Rashid Khan got slightly full, he latched onto it. I think he hit him for three sixes, and they all were just from the case of extending out his front foot and getting to the pitch of the ball. I think Chris Gayle or Suresh Raina have had similar sort of results against him and not many others, and it was through that style of being able to reach the ball”, said Vettori while speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out.

“But there’s more to it than just that slight overpitch because he has overpitched to other batsmen and they haven’t been able to get on to it. I just thought it was how stable he was, and the fact that whenever he missed, Abhishek Sharma was there to capitalize on it, and when he got a little bit short, he punched him over cover, but he also never missed an opportunity to take a single”, he added.

The 21-year-old has so far lived up to the expectations of his side having amassed 285 runs from eight outings with an average of 35.63 and a strike rate of 131.34 including two half-centuries with his highest score being 75. The youngster would yet again be expected to lay a solid foundation for the Orange Army during their next encounter against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the MCA Stadium in Pune on May 1.