Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign opener, New Zealand's accomplished batter Kane Williamson, a JioStar expert for IPL 2025, has predicted big things for two young talented batters: Kiwi star Rachin Ravindra and India's T20I specialist Abhishek Sharma.
Kane is also optimistic that the 24-year-old Team India opener will be confident heading into this season following an incredible IPL 2024 under his belt. Last year, he scored 484 runs in 16 matches at an average of 32.26, with a strike rate of above 204, and a whopping 42 sixes.
Following some initial poor scores in international cricket despite a century in his second T20I against Zimbabwe, Abhishek started delivering more consistently during the back end of the South Africa tour last year and the home series against England.
In his last seven T20Is, Abhishek has scored 365 runs at an average of 73.00 and a strike rate of over 214. One of his outstanding knocks included a 54-ball 135 against England.
In his last 22 innings, including his domestic scores in Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy fixtures for Punjab, Abhishek has tallied 1,087 runs at an average of 51.76, with three centuries and six fifties to his name. This also includes a brutal 170 against Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which came off just 96 balls.
Speaking on the exciting youngster, Kane said, "Undoubtedly, his recent international performances will help, those sorts of games lift anybody's confidence. And as a young, dynamic player, last year was an incredible year for Abhishek. But to do pretty much the same thing at the international level, and recently against England, was amazing to see. So, he will be very confident coming into this season."
"They (SRH) have got a huge amount of power in their batting line-up. You may have your good days and bad days, but when the Sunrisers have a good one, they are going to be scoring heavily as we saw last year," he added.
About the star Kiwi batter Rachin, who will be representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Williamson said, "He is a gifted player and a fast learner. I'm sure he will get plenty of opportunities this season. And I would never bet against him."
Having made his international debut in 2021, things started looking up for the 25-year-old Rachin with a breakout ODI World Cup in India in 2023, where he emerged as NZ's top run-getter and overall fourth, with 578 runs in 10 matches including three centuries. Following some fine Test outings which contained a double century against South Africa, Rachin was snapped up by CSK for Rs 1.8 crore. In a decent 2024 season, he made 222 runs in 10 matches with a half-century to his name.
He was released from the team ahead of the 2024 mega auction and bought back for Rs 4 crores. Rachin, who had played a crucial role in India's first Test home series loss in over 12 years, continued his fine run, scoring 263 runs in the Champions Trophy with two centuries, winning the prestigious Golden Bat and 'Player of the Tournament' although New Zealand lost to India in the final.
According to Williamson, this IPL would be a chance for the youngster to finally ace the T20 format, where he has so far shown mixed but promising results.
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