Abhishek Sharma Closing in on Virat Kohli’s Calendar-Year T20 Run Record

The fourth match of the five-match T20 series between India and South Africa is all set to commence at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. During the forthcoming contest, the Indian opener Abhishek Sharma is on the verge of writing a new chapter in the history books and breaking the massive 9-year record set by the former skipper Virat Kohli.

In this upcoming T20 match against South Africa, if Abhishek scores 47 runs, he would shatter the record of former Indian batsman Virat Kohli, who scored 1,614 runs in 31 matches in 2016 at a phenomenal average of 89.66. Abhishek has so far accumulated a significant 1,568 runs at an average of 41.26 in 40 T20 matches this year.

Abhishek Sharma is the leading run-scorer for India in the T20s. He has scored 825 runs in 20 T20 innings at an average of 43.42, with a strike rate of 195.03. Abhishek has been the backbone of the Indian team's T20 cricket, as all other batsmen have flopped. He is followed by Tilak Varma, who has scored 494 runs, and this year's flop batsman, Shubman Gill, comes in third with 291 runs.

India's T20 batting performance has plummeted since Sanju Samson's departure from the opening position. Last year, Sanju scored three centuries while opening the innings, but this year, he was demoted and dropped from the team. Shubman Gill was given the opening spot in his place, but he failed to deliver. The constant changes in the team's batting order have prevented any batsman from settling into a single batting position. This could be a concern for India ahead of the T20 World Cup.