Ex-India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin said he would love to see India's T20I opener Abhishek Sharma in the ODI format as well. "It's not just the arrival of Abhishek, but the arrival of India's next generation X-factor player," he stated, adding, "I think he will probably be the men’s team player of the year." Abhishek scored 859 T20I runs in 2025.