Not Jaiswal Or Pant! Brendon McCullum Hails Abhishek Sharma As Player Like Gayle, Finch, Ab De Villiers

Brendon McCullum reserved the ultimate praise for the 24-year-old Indian star |courtesy - AP/BCCI

KEY HIGHLIGHTS India beat England 4-1 in the T20I series

Brendon McCullum is on his first white ball tour as England head coach

India and England will play three ODIS from Thursday (February 6)

Known as one of the most aggressive batters in the history of the game, Brendon McCullum lavished praise on the star Indian cricketer and compared him to legends like Chris Gayle , AB de Villiers , and Aaron Finch following the end of the five-match T20I series between India and England.

The England cricket team head coach reserved special praise for Abhishek Sharma, who was the highest run-getter in the series with a tally of 279 runs in five innings at an incredible strike rate of 219. Abhishek started the series with an unbeaten knock of 79 in 34 balls in the opening match at Kolkata while ending it with an incredible innings that saw him register the highest individual score by an Indian in T20Is with 135 runs in 54 balls.

McCullum was all praise for Abhishek's effort and called it an innings as good as any he has seen. The former New Zealand captain pointed out that it came against a bowling attack that consisted of multiple bowlers breaching the 90 mph mark.

"First and foremost, the innings we saw from Abhishek is as good an innings as we've ever witnessed in T20 cricket. He's not just doing it against any attack, he's doing it against four guys who bowl 90mph and an absolute gun leg-spinner,’ McCullum said.

"I'm very realistic that when I see someone come out of the telephone box and play an innings like that, sometimes you throw all the different plans you want at it but if he's hitting it like that, you really can't stop it. We've seen so many players over the years in this format that have been able to do it - Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers - and maybe Abishek Sharma is putting his hand up as one of those players," said McCullum to the media after the 5th T20I between India and England.

McCullum himself is regarded among the most devastating batters in the history of the game. He set the tone for fearless hitting in the early days of T20 cricket. Many regard his knock of 158 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first match of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as not just one of the greatest knocks ever but a pivotal moment in changing the landscape of the sport.

Talking about Abhishek, he reached his half-century and century in 17 and 37 balls respectively, which is the second quickest for both milestones by an Indian in history behind Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma. Abhishek hit 13 sixes in his innings, which is the most by an Indian player in the history of the shortest format.

Click here to read article