Former India batterSuresh Raina believes Abhishek Sharma should look beyond T20 cricket and aim to play Test cricket. Abhishek’s T20I competitor for the opening slot, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, is being encouraged to play red-ball cricket. He is currently playing in the Duleep Trophy, where his team, East Zone, is contesting South Zone in the final at Chennai. However, Abhishek has confined himself only to white-ball cricket, largely T20s. He has not played any first-class game since February 2024. The Punjab player last played against Tamil Nadu at Salem.
To date, Abhishek has played 24 first-class games and has more than 1,000 runs at an average of 30.60. There is one century and five fifties against his name. Raina believes the 26-year-old, who scored a blistering match-winning fifty in the 2026 T20 World Cup final in March, should embrace red-ball cricket and try to represent the national side.
“I feel Abhishek Sharma should play Test cricket. Vaibhav is very young. Does he want to play? What do his coaches think? These are questions. I feel he should play. Are the IPL owners and associations also thinking of this and putting Test cricket in players’ minds? Coaches also have a role here,” Raina said on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel.
Food for thought for sure!
suresh rainat20 crickettest cricketabhishek sharma
Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams and players on Hindustan Times.
Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams and players on Hindustan Times.
See Less
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
