‘I really love the way he plays’

Suresh Raina picked Abhishek Sharma as the batter who could replicate his fearless playing style in the current Indian team. The former India cricketer was the first to score centuries in all three formats for the Men in Blue in internationals. He was also a prolific run-getter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and played a key role in helping Chennai Super Kings (CSK) win five titles.

Abhishek, on the other hand, had a stellar outing in IPL 2024, hitting boundaries for fun against some of the top bowlers in world cricket. He subsequently earned himself a spot in the Indian T20 setup and slammed his maiden international century in just his second game. Since then, Abhishek has played some enthralling knocks, relying on his ultra-aggressive approach with the willow.

Raina admitted that he loves watching Abhishek bat and mentioned that the Punjab all-rounder is mentored by the legendary Yuvraj Singh.

“Abhishek Sharma. I really love the way he plays, fearless. Yuvi pa has trained him a lot,” Raina said when asked to pick a batter who could be his next version, on the Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel.

I feel Yashasvi Jaiswal has a different work ethic: Raina

Apart from Abhishek, Raina also picked two other left-handed batters – Priyansh Arya and Yashasvi Jaiswal –  who could do well for the country. While talking about Yashasvi, Raina said that the Mumbai batter has a fighting spirit and praised his game awareness.

“I think Priyansh Arya can also be a very dominating player. However, I feel Yashasvi Jaiswal has a different work ethic. There is a fighting spirit. He scored a hundred in Australia and England. His game awareness is very good,” Raina opined.

Priyansh Arya is yet to earn his maiden India call-up. However, he impressed with the bat for Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, finishing with 475 runs in 17 innings at a strike rate of 179.25. Meanwhile, Yashasvi narrowly missed out on a spot in India’s squad for the Asia Cup, where Abhishek Sharma is expected to open the batting with either Sanju Samson or Shubman Gill.

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