# Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma (born 4 September 2000) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the national team. He made his debut against Zimbabwe in July 2024. His maiden T20I century came in his second match. He plays as a left-handed opening batter and a left arm spinner. In domestic cricket, he represents Punjab and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

## Early life

Sharma was born on 4 September 2000 in Amritsar, Punjab to Manju Sharma and Raj Kumar Sharma. He is the youngest of three, with two elder sisters Komal and Sonia. He completed his schooling from Delhi Public School. He is a friend of Shubman Gill since childhood and they used to open the innings for Punjab in the under-14s. Yuvraj Singh played a role in coaching Sharma during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

## Youth career

Representing India :
| U19 World Cup |||
| 2018 New Zealand |||
| U19 Asia Cup |||
| 2016 Sri Lanka | Captain | Player of the MatchVs Sri Lanka |

### U16 & U19 domestic

Sharma scored a century in his maiden U-16 match in the domestic cricket tournament for the 2015–2016 Vijay Merchant Trophy. He scored 1,200 runs at an average of 109.09. He then made his U-19 debut for Punjab in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy in 2016.

### First-class cricket

He made his debut in first-class cricket for Punjab in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy on 6 October 2017. He led Punjab to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win in the 2023-24 season finishing as the second-highest run scorer of the tournament with 485 runs from ten innings at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 192.46, registering two hundreds and three fifties.

### List A cricket

Sharma played in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy for Punjab. On 28 February 2021, playing for Punjab against Madhya Pradesh, he scored the fastest hundred by an Indian in List A cricket, in 42 balls.

### U19 Asia and World Cup wins

Sharma captained the team to victory at the 2016 U19 Asia Cup and was the player of the match during the final. He also led the team during an ODI series against England U19 in 2017. He was a key member of the team that won the 2018 U19 World Cup. He scored a half-century against Bangladesh in the quarterfinal match of the tournament.

## Franchise career

Representing Sunrisers Hyderabad :
| Indian Premier League |||
| 2020 Abu Dhabi |||
| 2024 Chennai | 2024 Chennai | Most Sixes |

### Delhi Daredevils (2018)

In January 2018, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 IPL auction for Rs 5.5 million. In May, he made his debut and went on to score 46 runs off 19 balls.

### Sunrisers Hyderabad (2019–present)

In Feb 2022, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2022 edition. During the tournament, he played 14 matches and scored 426 runs. In 2024, he scored the fastest fifty for SRH against Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. He also finished the season with 484 runs in 16 matches and a strike rate of 200. He was the second highest run-scorer for the team after Travis Head. He won the Most Sixes award for hitting the highest number of sixes (42) in the tournament.

## International career
### T20I debut and rise (2024–present)

Sharma was called up for the 2024 tour of Zimbabwe and he made his international debut in the first match on 6 July. He scored his maiden T20I century in the second match of the series, scoring 100 runs at the Harare Sports Club. He became the fastest Indian to score a century in innings batted. He also became the fourth batter to hit a maiden T20I century before 24 years of age.
In 2025, he became the highest individual run scorer for India in T20Is by scoring 135 runs from 54 balls vs England. His innings included 13 sixes and 7 fours. He jumped to the 2nd spot in the men's T20 batting world rankings after the century.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Tournament | Result |
| 2016 | Raj Singh Dungarpur Award | Highest Run Score & Wickets | Vijay Merchant Trophy | Won |
| 2016 | Player of the Match | Best Performance of the Match | 2016 U-19 Asia Cup | Won |
| 2024 | Player of the Tournament | Second Highest Runscorer | 2023–24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy | Won |
| 2024 | Super Sixes of The Season | Most Sixes in the Tournament | 2024 Indian Premier League | Won |