Not Chris Gayle! Kevin Pietersen declares Abhishek Sharma the 'most complete T20 opener'

England National Cricket Team batting legend Kevin Pietersen has showered rich praise on the India National Cricket Team young opening batsman Abhishek Sharma.

Kevin Pietersen has made a bold claim on the 25-year-old India National Cricket Team star, saying that he is the most complete opening batsman in T20 cricket.

Fearless, courageous, and talented - Kevin Pietersen on Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma has set the stage on fire in T20I cricket since making his debut for the India National Cricket Team in July 2024.

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His exceptional batting performances helped him become the first-choice opener for the India National Cricket Team in T20I cricket, and currently, he is the No. 1-ranked player in the ICC Men's T20I Batting Rankings.

Overall, Abhishek Sharma has played 29 matches for Team India and has scored 1012 runs at an average of 37.48 and a strike rate of 189.51, with two tons and six fifties. He recently won the Player of the Series award in the five-match series between India and Australia, and before that, he won the Player of the Tournament award in the Asia Cup 2025.

Kevin Pietersen seems to have been highly impressed by Abhishek, and by resharing a post on X, he labelled the youngster as fearless, courageous, and talented.

"Not surprised at all by this. Abhishek is the most complete opening batter in T20 cricket. Fearless, courageous and talented!," the English batting legend wrote on X.

Not surprised at all by this. Abhishek is the most complete opening batter in T20 cricket. Fearless, courageous and talented! https://t.co/Ny7we4uYoF

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) November 9, 2025

I saw the maturity in how to play the field - Parthiv Patel

Recently, Parthiv Patel also lauded Abhishek Sharma during an interaction on Star Sports. He said that the left-handed batsman showed a lot of maturity in the Australia series, and he wasn't blindly slogging.

"Abhishek is known for six-hitting. The one thing that was seen on this tour is that it's not like he is trying to swing blindly off every ball. I saw the maturity in how to play the field. In India, the grounds are generally small. So you have the confidence that even if there is a fielder at deep square leg, you will clear him and you will get a six," he said

"However, here, if the boundary is 75 or 80 meters, it doesn't get cleared that easily. Then you have to hit shots in the pockets. You have to hit shots where the fielders aren't there. You saw that in Abhishek Sharma's innings in Melbourne and today as well. He was making room and hitting in the areas where the fielders weren't there," he added.

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The day he plays 12-13 overs, India will mostly win - Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel added that Abhishek Sharma would continue to play ultra-aggressive cricket and India will win all the matches where he stays in the middle for 12-13 overs.

"He will play like this only. There will be frustration at times as to whether there was any need to hit another six when two fours and a six had already come. However, I feel he will play in that fashion only," he said.

"The day he plays 12-13 overs, India will mostly win that match because he bats with a strike rate like that. The one good thing is that he has scored more than 1,000 runs, and with this style only. So you see consistency along with high-risk, high-reward cricket in Abhishek's batting," Parthiv added.