MUMBAI: With his blistering innings of 54-ball 135 against England at the Wankhede Stadium in the fifth and final T20I on Sunday, Abhishek Sharma won the hearts of many. Amongst those blown away by the Indian opener's relentless blitzkrieg is former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who is here for commentary duties.
After his blazing knock, the talented youngster received the ultimate compliment from 'KP,' who told the 24-year-old that it "was the best innings that I have ever seen."
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"He didn't tell me anything. He said 'Thank you' because I said to him that that was the best innings I have ever seen. The strokeplay was phenomenal. There was no hanky panky-reverse sweep, scooping, sweeping, ramping, rubbish. It was the most unbelievable strokeplay. It was the perfect innings. Not many T20 batters can play the perfect innings. That was the perfect innings, that too at the Wankhede where it bounces and it's fast. You have Sanju Samson who walks back onto his stumps and is intimidated by the short ball. Abhishek is running at (Jofra) Archer. It's just phenomenal. I'm so happy for him," Pietersen gushed about Sharma while talking to reporters at an event on Tuesday at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse.
Pointing out a particular quality which impressed him about Abhishek's innings, Pietersen said, "He has a very good eye."
While terming mystery spinner Varun Chakarvarthy's inclusion on Tuesday in India's ODI team for the upcoming series against England as a "very good decision," the South Africa-born former England batsman pointed out that England's batters would play the tweaker, who took 14 wickets in the just-concluded T20I series at an average of just 9.85, "better" as they would get more time against him in the 50-over format.
“The English batters would be better against him in the one-daters because they can spend more time. It’s a longer format, not every ball is an event and I think it is a great decision (to add Chakravarthy),” Pietersen said.
'Virat, Rohit must be celebrated, deserve respect'
Pietersen felt that India's senior pros Virat Kohli and Indian captain Rohit Sharma too, who are currently out of form, "should be celebrated" and deserve more respect" for their sheer achievements.
"I played 104 Test matches, and scored 23 Test hundreds. That means one in four or five Test matches was good (for me). You guys need to understand (that) these guys are human beings. When they look back at their career, you give them bamboo now, but at the end of their careers, you look back and (think) how did they make you feel when they played? They made people feel happy. It's not all about statistics, it's not all about winning or not about losing, and when you finish your career like I did, people talk to me about how I made them feel when I played. Virat and Rohit make people feel amazing. So, they should be celebrated, (when) they get to 36, 37, 38. I always feel those kinds of players should be celebrated. People shouldn't be giving them a constant stink. I think it's unfair. How can you tell somebody who scored as many runs as these guys that they must retire. Yes, it's a discussion and it's a topic...I get it, I understand it, but they deserve more respect than that," asserted Pietersen.
