Abhishek Sharma vs Rohit Sharma - comparing their stats after 13 T20Is 

Abhishek Sharma has been one of India's star batters in the T20I format in recent times. His emergence since the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been praiseworthy.

The southpaw also played a classical knock in India's convincing seven-wicket victory in the first T20I against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22. Chasing 133 for victory, Abhishek smashed the English bowlers all over the park for his 34-ball 79 at a strike rate of over 230 while opening the innings. He clubbed five boundaries and eight towering sixes to set up India's victory.

The Punjab-born cricketer credited coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav for his whirlwind knock, saying they back youngsters to express themselves. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Abhishek Sharma said (via Cricbuzz):

“I just wanted to express myself. A special mention to the captain and coach. They have given us a lot of freedom. The way they talk to youngsters, it's tremendous."

His early rise as a T20I batter has drawn comparisons with Rohit Sharma's initial years in the shortest format. With that being said, let's compare Abhishek Sharma and Rohit's stats after 13 T20Is.

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Abhishek Sharma's performance in 13 T20Is

After grinding a lot in domestic cricket, the 24-year-old finally found his footing after a scintillating campaign in IPL 2024 with the SunRisers Hyderabad. He smashed 484 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of over 200, which earned him a national call-up for the Zimbabwe series last year.

Abhishek Sharma had a disastrous start to his international career, getting out for a duck. However, he bounced back in style in the next game, smashing a hundred off just 46 deliveries in Harare - the joint fifth-fastest (alongside KL Rahul) by an Indian batter in T20Is.

The left-hander then endured a little slump in form, failing to convert the starts into big knocks. However, a long rope by the management ensured Abhishek returned to form against South Africa in November last year. He scored a fine half-century and gave a couple of fiery starts to set the ball rolling for the batters to follow.

His last innings (against England) yielded a crucial 79 runs and the youngster will hope to keep the momentum going as India look to build a strong squad for the home T20 World Cup next year.

Overall, Abhishek Sharma has amassed 335 runs in 13 matches, including a hundred and two fifties, at a mind-boggling strike rate of 183.06.

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Rohit Sharma's performance after 13 T20Is

The veteran right-hander emerged into the scene as one of the prodigal talents. He was picked up for the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, as the selectors named a young side under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

Rohit Sharma made his debut against England in Durban but couldn't get to bat in that match. He batted in the middle order in the next game against hosts South Africa and scored an unbeaten 50 to help the Men in Blue go past 150 runs after batting first.

He endured low returns in the next few games before turning the heat in the 2010 T20 World Cup game against Ireland in Nottingham. His unbeaten 52 off 45 deliveries helped the Men in Blue chase down 113 runs within 16 overs.

Overall, Rohit aggregated 238 runs in his first 13 T20Is at an average of 34, including two fifties. However, the 37-year-old retired as one of the legends in the game after guiding India to the T20 World Cup title last year in the West Indies and the USA.

The right-hander also bid goodbye to the T20I format as the highest run-scorer with 4231 runs in 159 matches, including five hundred and 32 half-centuries.

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Conclusion

Both cricketers witnessed a whirlwind start to their T20 careers for India. However, purely based on the statistics, Abhishek Sharma has had a greater impact with his breathtaking knocks at the top of the order after the first 13 T20Is.

But that being said, Rohit Sharma is a legend of the game and it will take a lot of hard work from the youngster to match the former's stature.