“Virat Kohli would have never averaged 50” - Mohammad Kaif’s huge statement on Abhishek Sharma after IND vs SA 2025 3rd T20I

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif advised Abhishek Sharma to tone down his aggression a touch after the power play if he aspires to have a lofty average like Virat Kohli. The youngster smashed 36 runs off 18 deliveries to get the team off to a flying start during the run chase in the third T20I against South Africa in Dharamshala on Sunday, December 14.

While Abhishek Sharma got India off to the perfect start, which included 16 runs off the first over, he was dismissed in the final over of the power play. The Men in Blue found it difficult to navigate through the remainder of the routine run chase after his departure.

Chasing 118 for a series lead, the hosts were well placed at 60-1 in 5.2 overs when Abhishek Sharma lost his wicket. It took the team 10.3 overs to chase down the remaining half of the runs, as none of the other batters looked convincing and settled enough at the crease.

Mohammad Kaif urged Abhishek Sharma to dial down the gears once he is settled to combat the early stages of the middle overs, and ramp things up once the team is in a well-placed situation.

"He must not be getting any confidence with this knock. He must be troubled thinking, 'I was set on 35, it was a good chance to score 60-70'. Virat Kohli would have never averaged 50 had he not knocked around for singles in the middle overs. If you want such an average, you have to do those things as well," Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

Virat Kohli ended his T20I career with a splendid average of 48.70. He only slid below the 50-run mark in the final few matches of his career. After his debut, the ace batter reached an average of 50 in T20Is for the first time during the 2016 tour of Australia, and the figure reached as high as 58.61 after a couple of months.

In comparison, Abhishek Sharma holds an average of 36.03 in T20I cricket after 32 matches.

"He must learn that not every ball can be hit for a four or a six" - Mohammad Kaif's advice for Abhishek Sharma amid IND vs SA 2025 T20Is

Abhishek Sharma has found incredible success with his high-risk, aggressive style of play. He was crowned as the No.1 batter in the format earlier this year, and he has only grown from strength to strength since then.

Despite all of the achievements in the early stages of his career, Mohammad Kaif feels that Abhishek Sharma can be a much better, well-rounded batter, if he just tweaks his approach a little, especially after his early onslaught.

"Although Abhishek Sharma is quite young, he must learn one thing. He must learn that not every ball can be hit for a four or a six. He hits sixes in the powerplay and all, that is fine. But when he scores 35-40 runs in the powerplay, he must look to score the next 10-15 runs sensibly, according to the situation. No matter how good a batter is, it is impossible to go with the same kind of approach and the same kind of shots. All of that is good in the powerplay, but after that phase, he has to just fine-tune a bit," Kaif added.

Abhishek Sharma had a successful 2025 Asia Cup and Australia tour in the last few months, and has looked threatening in the T20Is against South Africa with his set of cameos at the top.