[WATCH] Abhishek Sharma cooks Shaheen Afridi after IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 final

The left-handed opening batter of the Indian side, Abhishek Sharma, cooked Pakistan’s premier pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi, after India earned their ninth title of the Asia Cup in 2025 as they beat Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. They didn’t get a good start with the bat, though, for 20 runs inside the first four overs.

Abhishek revealed that he always planned to go after the pacers from the opening over and didn’t even hesitate to go against the ‘premium pacer’, which was perhaps indicated to either Afridi or Haris Rauf. The latter leaked 50 runs at an economy rate of 13.60.

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“I mean, if you see that I had a plan, if I get spinners or pacers in the powerplay, I'm going to utilize that powerplay. Because if you see any bowler, even a fast bowler, any of the premium fast bowlers as well, I want to go from the first ball, no matter who the bowler is. And obviously, that's going to make me give that impact to the team. And that's what I want to do.” Abhishek expressed in the post-match presentation.

Watch: Abhishek Sharma takes a dig at Shaheen Afridi after Asia Cup 2025 final

Abhishek finished the Asia Cup 2025 as the leading run-getter with 314 runs in seven innings at an average of under 45 and a strike rate of 200 with the help of 32 boundaries and 19 sixes.

“Getting a car is always a pleasure. (How has this tournament helped you?) I mean, of course, getting into this team after winning the World Cup wasn't easy for any opener. But if you see, we had a plan that we wanted to play a game, you know, that we have to show intent from the first ball. So that was my plan, I worked really hard on that.” Abhishek addressed.

“And if you're playing like this, you need special support from your coach and captain. I think that was the one thing I was getting from them throughout the tournament, before this as well. So obviously, my plan was pretty much clear that, you know, if I do well, if I get that impact, and it's for my team, my team should win.” The southpaw concluded in the post-match presentation.