Shree Charani nominated for the ICC player of the month award, reached the highest rating points ever recorded in the ICC women’s T20I bowling rankings. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

In an era where opening the batting in Test cricket revolved around giving the first hour, if not the first session, to the bowlers, K. Srikkanth was a glorious exception to the accepted rule. High on risk and therefore a little short on consistency, the maverick from Tamil Nadu was unstoppable when in the mood, treating the best fast bowlers in the world with utter disdain.

Mark Greatbatch at the 1992 World Cup, and Sanath Jayasuriya in 1996, are often eulogised for changing the face of opening the batting, but long before these two left-handers left their mark, Srikkanth had made hitting over the top fashionable. With complete and utter disregard for reputations, and with a nonchalance that comes only to the chosen few.

Strategies chalked at team meetings, he was told, need not concern him. First Sunil Gavaskar, and then Kapil Dev, encouraged Srikkanth to be himself, to bat with natural flair and flamboyance. No one expected him to bat like Gavaskar, studied in defence and treating each ball assiduously on its merit because, well, he wouldn’t be Srikkanth then, would he? And so, the right-hander went on a rampage whenever he could.

Not an accurate picture

A Test average of 29.88 from 43 matches, and a 50-over international average of 29.01 spread across 145 innings, do not paint an accurate picture of the potential for mayhem that he possessed. Srikkanth was a lot more than the sum of his six international hundreds and the highest individual tally in a low-scoring final of the 1983 World Cup, because the entertainment he provided and the value he brought with him to the batting crease were beyond parallel in that time and age.

Srikkanth was a pioneer, without question, his brand of batsmanship unique and remarkably enviable in his time in international cricket. The subsequent emergence of a host of destructive openers, among them a certain Sachin Tendulkar who was thrust into the role of an ODI opener almost accidentally in 1994 and who went on to finish with 49 international tons in the 50-over version, is a back-handed compliment to the Srikkanth school of aggression that has gained immense currency in the last two and a quarter decades, from the time the 20-over iteration stormed cricketing consciousness.

Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle made a name for themselves by beautifully fusing untold havoc with stunning consistency. Both openers, the former converted from a middle-order practitioner, signed off with two Test triple tons apiece – with only the great Don Bradman and Brian Lara for company in that exclusive club of four – to reiterate that aggressive batting need not be at the expense of sustained masterpieces.

Having grown up watching the deeds of these two stalwarts, among others, Abhishek Sharma has now burst forth as a modern-day six-hitting behemoth against whom the margin for error is miniscule and to whom clearing the boundary boards is little more than child’s play.

Abhishek is now 26, still some way short of hitting his peak as a batter. Internationally, he figures in only one format and it is only a matter of time before he is allowed to spread his wings and dot the 50-over landscape too with spectacular edifices. But even in that one limited-overs format, he has showcased a penchant for the bold and the beautiful that is impossible to miss.

Numerous batters who have failed to tickle the scorers in their first international innings have had a stellar career, not least the legendary G.R. Vishwanath, who followed up nought in the first innings of his debut Test against Australia in Kanpur in 1969 with 137 of the best in the second dig. Abhishek’s international career too got off to the most inauspicious of beginnings – he fell for a second-ball duck against Zimbabwe in Harare in July 2024 – but the very next day, he made the world sit up and take notice by smashing a 47-ball century against the same opponents, now thoroughly shell-shocked.

It was evident even at that early stage that this was a special talent that needed to be encouraged rather than fettered, that was best left to its own devices so that he could learn from his mistakes and polish the rough edges instead of being instructed to redefine his high-risk approach. Abhishek took some time in striking the right balance between all-out attack and judiciousness in shot-selection, but once he found the magic formula, he has been an unstoppable force at the highest level.

Abhishek has played 58 T20I innings, which is a fairly reasonable sample size. Despite taking the fight to the bowlers, he has blasted three hundreds and 12 half-centuries. Despite his propensity to hit the ball in the air, he averages 33.17. And because he loves dismantling attacks and bruising egos, he has been able to strike at an extraordinary 194.55, laced with 182 fours and 126 sixes.

Every year since its inception, the Indian Premier League rewards the highest scorer of the season with the Orange Cap. In so many ways, that is incongruous because T20 cricket is seldom about quantum. It is about impact, it’s about the value of the runs made. Given that eight-ball 25s are seen as being more crucial than 35-ball half-centuries, strike-rate would appear to be a logical route to deciding the significance of a batter to his team’s fortunes, but strike-rate alone can’t be the criterion if it rewards only cameos and disregards more meaningful contributions.

Various quarters have advocated using average and strike-rate in tandem to decide the worth of a batter. The former is a marker of consistency, the latter a pointer to explosiveness. In Abhishek’s case, combining the average and the strike-rate in T20Is will give him a whopping total of 227.72. Now, while that is just a number, it is a more accurate reflection of the kind of havoc he can wreak. Abhishek’s latest epic came on Thursday night at the National capital’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. In the last of three T20Is that Afghanistan hosted against India in India last Thursday, Abhishek’s most unforgiving avatar was on full view. In a mere 30 deliveries, he raced to his third T20I century, a good 19 months after his previous ton, against England in Mumbai in February 2025.

The hundred included nine fours and 10 sixes – 96% of his runs came in boundaries – and by the time he was dismissed, he had added one more six in his final score of 108, off a ridiculous 34 balls. It is the fastest T20I hundred against a full-member nation, the fastest ton internationally in the 20-over game by a batter from a full-member country.

Quips that Abhishek defeated the Afghans by 14 runs weren’t just cute. They aptly illustrated the full weight of his dominance against a bowling group that is pedestrian by no stretch of the imagination. Afghanistan might be a little undercooked when it comes to batting in the topmost echelons, but as a bowling unit, they hardly suffer in comparison. Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi form a formidable quartet, but Abhishek left them quivering in their collective boots, waiting for and ruthlessly punishing any indiscretion in length or direction with the most scything, punitive of willows.

In the two preceding matches of the series at the same venue, Abhishek had reeled off scores of 82 (32b) and 39 (19b) respectively. His lowest strike-rate (205.26) came in game two, sandwiched between similar efforts of 256.25 and 317.64, the latter killing any competitive interest in the dead rubber just a quarter of the way into the no-contest.

It was Abhishek at his majestic best, unhurried and unflustered, using a strong base as his ally and carefully eschewing the premeditation that has left many a batter horribly out of position. Abhishek seldom uses exaggerated feet movement whilst waiting for the bowler to deliver the ball, nor does he often seek recourse to the unconventional such as the reverse-scoop or a switch hit.

His areas of preference are in front of square rather than behind it. A beautiful bat-swing with the willow on the downward curve can be mesmerising and because Abhishek strikes the ball cleanly and down the ground, it’s more than likely that he will forever be one step ahead of the opposition. The effortlessness with which he sends the ball soaring deep into the stands is audaciously breathtaking in its simplicity and for the debilitating (for the bowlers) outcome from which there is no recovery.

The very nature of the T20 beast is such that it is almost an antidote to consistency. The consensus is that opening batters are best placed to stack up all the records, and there is no arguing with that because, after all, they are in a position to play more deliveries than those succeeding them in the batting order. But the propensity to push the envelope manifests itself in greater risk-taking when the field restrictions are in place, which automatically brings with it the threat of courting cheap dismissals.

Conservatism has been thrown out of the window a long time back. India are the leaders, in a manner of speaking, in setting the tone, having woken up to the demands of the format a little later than some others, and have now meticulously pieced together an amazing set of destroyers with Abhishek as the primary wrecking ball. The Afghanistan series saw him at his fiercely consistent best. He had a reasonably forgettable T20 World Cup; three ducks at the start were only marginally offset by a blazing half-century in the final, but he seems to have rediscovered his mojo now, which is an excellent sign with the Asian Games gold medal defence now exactly a week away.

Furious competition

Abhishek will be keen to show that there is more to him than just a 20-over marauder. There is furious competition for top-order places in the 50-over setup, with someone like Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has two hundreds in his last three ODI innings, struggling to break through. Abhishek’s List A (domestic 50-over) record isn’t trifling – he averages 33.78 while striking at 100.18 in 68 innings – but while he will be keen to evolve as a multi-format performer, he won’t lose any sleep over his longer-version future.

For now, his calling is in T20s and that’s where he will try to maximise his efficacy and get the team off to the kind of starts they have come to take for granted. He won’t be fazed by the fact that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is breathing down his neck, or that there are other acknowledged ball-bashers aspiring for higher honours. Abhishek has found his Zen state — India’s pride, the rest of the world’s envy.

Abhishek Sharma hit nine fours and 11 sixes in his dazzling knock.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

License to rampage: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma plays a shot during the Indian Premier League-2026 match against Delhi Capitals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

A file image of SRH’s Ishan Kishan.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The gun bowler he is, Jasprit Bumrah has seen countless batters take that panicked, ill-fated sideward step from his line of fire.

Brian Bennett’s leg-side movement, though, felt different. Even as he set his base, exposing his stumps to one who makes a living out of uprooting them, the Zimbabwe opener seemed calm and secure. His actions were not out of desperation, nor was it because he ran out of options against the premier pacer.

It was exactly what he had planned, and as if he knew Bumrah was going to follow him with a sharp bouncer, Bennett produced a remarkable tennis-style flat-batted swat, dismissing the world’s best bowler for a majestic six over long-on. The maximum also marked his third half-century in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The Zimbabwe dugout had no qualms in showing its adulation, though even without the milestone, some of his peers and mentors would have been tempted to stand and applaud the sheer audacity of the shot.

Watch the ball closely

“Yeah, Bumrah was always going to be a tough bowler to face. [It was my] first time facing him. Obviously, he is a world-class bowler. So, my thought process was to just watch the ball as close as I can, and just let my body do the action. The ball was in my zone, and I just hit it,” Bennett said in the post-match press conference after his unbeaten 97 against India in Chennai.

The media interaction following that memorable innings revealed more than just the youngster’s technical know-how and sky-high ambitions; it also highlighted his likeable character, perfectly captured when he corrected a journalist who failed to recognise him with a measured, “I’m Brian Bennett.”

With 277 runs in just five outings, Bennett was making a name for himself on the world stage. His average sat at a staggering 277 — having been dismissed only once in the T20 World Cup till then. Even though this number came down to 146 after scoring a 13-ball 15 against South Africa in his last game, what he achieved in the tournament was almost unheard of for a T20 opener.

It’s one thing to bat through an innings in Test cricket, where strike rate is an insignificant column in the statistics page (maybe not for England’s Bazballers), but to do so in T20s — a format increasingly defined by fleeting cameos and high-risk hitting — Bennett’s brand of batsmanship is as rare as a vinyl record in a world of digital music.

When asked if he looked at himself as an anchor in Zimbabwe’s batting line-up, Bennett said: “[My job is to] give Zimbabwe a good start in the PowerPlay and then sort of just carry on that momentum throughout the middle overs with the likes of (Sikandar) Raza, the guys who can hit the big sixes and stuff,” Bennett said on February 26.

“I wouldn’t say it’s too much of an anchor role. I do go out there and play positive cricket and try to get runs at those higher strike rates. But the pitches in Sri Lanka were a bit different. So, maybe that lower strike rate came into play. I just try to do the simple things better.”

Stroke player

On his modus operandi to find the boundary, Bennett explained: “I don’t do much power hitting. I think of myself as more of a stroke player. I try to get into good positions, which enables me to hit those sixes. If I’m in a strong position and I can get my hands to the ball, that gives me the best chance to hit those sixes.”

Bennett’s returns justify his words. His 292 runs in this edition, second only to Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan (383), came at a strike rate of 134.56.

Known for piercing gaps over clearing the ropes, Bennett’s priorities are laid bare by the numbers: the Zimbabwean prodigy’s 32 fours in the T20 showpiece [along with Aiden Markram and Tim Seifert] are second only to Farhan’s 37, while Bennett’s seven maximums are the fewest among this edition’s top-14 run-scorers.

“If they (bowlers) miss [their mark], it’s got to go. But also, they are allowed to bowl good balls. I try to not get too ahead of myself and do something I shouldn’t be doing. Six overs are longer than you think. I don’t have the big biceps to hit over the top and get a six. But definitely, I like strokeplaying and hitting the gap even inside the PowerPlay,” Bennett had said in a video posted by the ICC on February 19.

And this method has worked extremely well for the 22-year-old. In fact, since Bennett made his T20I debut on December 7, 2023, no one has scored more runs in the format (1,888 runs in 58 innings) than him. His strike rate of 143.68, to go with an average of 36.30, is quite creditable for somebody who has been tasked to be the glue that holds the innings together.

“Brian Bennett is Brian Bennett. His role is just to bat as long as he can bat. While you may think I am being funny, but only people who understand Brian would know what I am talking about,” skipper Raza had said ahead of the Super Eight game against the West Indies in Mumbai.

‘Brian must bat’

“His role is to bat. For as long as he can. That’s it. And that means 20 overs, 15 overs, 18 overs — doesn’t matter. Brian must just bat,” Raza added.

Bennett’s fingerprints on Zimbabwe’s triumphs are as unmistakable as the Milky Way in a desert night sky. While his unbeaten half-centuries in Zimbabwe’s heists over Australia and Sri Lanka are recent examples, the overall data tells an even more definitive story: he averages 52.09 in Zimbabwe’s victories, a figure that plummets to 26.55 in the African team’s defeats. The correlation is simple: Zimbabwe wins when Bennett fires.

Bennett’s playing style is just as uncomplicated. And it’s not just him saying that. “He is one guy who does not make it complicated at all. That is a great quality. He doesn’t think. But it’s good. He brings simplicity, and because of that nature, nothing seems to faze or bother him,” Raza told ICC.

Zimbabwe fielding coach Stuart Matsikenyeri echoes it, saying Bennett is a “great student of the game.”

“He’s a sponge and he’s very hungry to learn. He does more listening than talking. He’s always looking to get better the next day. In the presser, he kept trying to say, ‘I just keep it simple.’ That is his character,” Matsikenyeri said in the mixed zone after the Super Eight game against India.

Exceptional and exponential

Bennett’s growth has been exceptional and exponential. Just four years ago, he was swimming in the kids’ section of the cricket pool: the under-19 World Cup. But since being thrown into the deep end, Bennett has swam ashore with authority and poise.

In his short career, he has already scored a Test ton against England in England, a fourth-innings half-century against Bangladesh, and an ODI hundred against Ireland.

Where does Bennett go from here now that he has proved his mettle against the creme de la creme of international cricket, that too in a World Cup?

“The sky’s the limit for Brian. He’s a very highly motivated youngster. It’s scary that he’s only 22. It’s exciting to see where he’s going to go. I wouldn’t put a bench on him because I think there are a lot of good things ahead of him,” Matsikenyeri added.

Even as he became the toast of the town during his breakthrough tournament, Bennett’s outlook on cricket and life remained centred on opportunity and growth. “The main thing I’ve learnt is that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. So, no matter what happens today, you’ve always got another opportunity tomorrow to try and do better,” Bennett told the ICC.

The stoic batter seems to live by the timeless advice found in H. Jackson Brown Jr.’s Life’s Little Instruction Book: ‘The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.’

If the T20 World Cup was any indication, the future is bright for Bennett and Zimbabwe.

India’s Abhishek Sharma during a practice session before an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 cricket match between India and South Africa, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, on February 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India’s Abhishek Sharma during the practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Cricket Match between India and Netherland at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji