The ascension of India’s opening batsman Abhishek Sharma to the highest position in the ICC T20I batting rankings has been a remarkable change. The once-a-four-years-old boy who used to play with his bat all the time in a small house in Amritsar has now become the world’s No. 1 T20I batter with a record-breaking 931 rating points and is therefore a young man living his childhood dream.
Irfan Pathan makes a massive revelation
Pathan revealed some of the secrets of Abhishek’s childhood and linked these events with the player’s progression through domestic cricket, the IPL, and now international cricket. The lefty has become India’s most vital T20I player over the past year, thanks to his performance in the Asia Cup 2025 and the series against Australia, among others. Pathan could not help but narrate how Abhishek, at the age of 13, made his first money from cricket.
“Picture a 13-year-old from Amritsar who comes home with his very first cricket winnings which are worth INR 2000. Just imagine the things that a kid of that age would want to do with the money like buying new shoes, a new bat, or partying with friends! But this boy takes the money straight to his grandmother,” he disclosed during his YouTube channel session.
Pathan then recounted how the grandmother of the child had told the boy’s father that he would be famous in the world if he lived long enough.
“And he says to his grandmother: Give me this money. Grandmother always used to tell this boy’s father that your son will earn a lot of fame in the world. This boy had a passion for cricket since childhood. He was 4 years old when he got his first bat. And after that, he never let anyone live in peace. Mom, dad, sister, he used to tell everyone all day to bowl to him. And he used to party all day. There was a small temple in the house.
And he would store them all in the temple here. Today, without a doubt, he is the top-ranked T20 international batsman in the world. However, when he returns, he puts all his bats in the temple. “Some things remain the same,” he concluded.
Abhishesk Sharma in top form just at the right time.
From the very beginning, he dominated the age-group cricket, captained India U19, and scored a lot of runs in various tournaments, thereby pushing his way up the ranks. His career took a turn during IPL 2024, where he scored 484 runs with a strike rate of more than 200. The outstanding performance of his made him the fastest India’s debut. He was out for a duck in Zimbabwe at the start, but replied with a century in his second match. Following him was an astounding 135 against England at Wankhede, which was the highest T20I score made by an Indian.
Abhishek was the tournament’s top run-getter in the Asia Cup, and as such, he was named Player of the Tournament. He was again the leading scorer and Player of the Series against Australia. He surpassed Tim David’s global record for the quickest 1000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced, making the milestone in just 528 balls. He also became the fastest Indian to reach this milestone in matches with 28 innings. With 931 rating points, Abhishek ascended to the top in the ICC rankings, the highest rating ever attained by a men’s T20I batter.
Interestingly, he seems to be in the prime of his career right before the T20 World Cup in India, which is scheduled for February and March 2026.
