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As India gears up for the first T20I against Bangladesh at Gwalior, all eyes will be on Abhishek Sharma, who has proven to be one of the most exciting youngsters in the game this year.
The T20I series against Bangladesh starts from today. The three-match series will see matches being played in Delhi and Hyderabad on September 9 and 12 as well. The 24-year-old had a breakout Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 this season, with 484 runs in 16 matches at an average of 32.26, decorated with three half-centuries. His best score was 75* and his runs came at a strike rate of 204.21. Abhishek smashed 42 sixes in the season, the most by an Indian in a single IPL season. This led to him being called-up for Zimbabwe tour, a five-match T20I series after IPL in July. Though he could muster just 124 runs in four innings, his power-hitting and potential was at his peak during the second T20I, in which he scored 100 in just 47 balls, with seven fours and eight sixes, with his runs at a strike rate of over 212. This year in 21 T20Is and 20 innings, he has scored 608 runs at an average of 32.00, with a strike rate of 197.40. He has scored a century and three fifties, with his best score being 100. He has the best strike rate among all batters in T20s, with West Indies legend Andre Russell (185.61) being at the second spot. Also, his strike rate of 205.5 against spin since 2023 is the best among Indian batters, with his distant rival being Rajat Patidar with a strike rate of 184.8. Abhishek has hit 52 sixes against spin since last year, being the only Indian batter to do so. BCCI on Saturday released a statement to rule Dube out of the series and named young Tilak Varma as his replacement. The southpaw will link with the Indian team in Gwalior on Sunday morning ahead of the opening T20I. "All-rounder Shivam Dube is ruled out of the three-match T20I series owing to a back injury. The Senior Selection Committee has named Tilak Varma as Shivam's replacement. Tilak will link up with the squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning," BCCI said in a statement. Before this, Team India played a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which they won 2-0. India's T20I squad for Bangladesh series: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Mayank Yadav. (ANI)
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