'Glad I wasn't born in this era': Shoaib Akhtar meets 'rising star of India' Abhishek Kumar ahead of Ind vs Pak match

Shoaib Akhtar, former Pakistan cricketer, recently took to his X handle and shared a video of himself meeting Indian opener Abhishek Kumar in Dubai. In the viral video, the veteran Pak pacer was all praise on Abhishek and called him an 'exceptional talent', wishing him the best for his future. The 'Rawalpindi Express' also wished the young batter to break many records and mentioned that he was glad that he was not born in this era.

''I am glad that I wasn’t born in this era, and the reason is this young lad. He got a hundred, and it was amazing. I would advise him not to leave his strength and to become friends with people who are better than him. He has got a great life ahead. I wish him the best of luck. Go forward and break all the records. He is the rising star of India. Keep watching him,'' Shoaib said praising Abhishek.

Take a look

Just ran into an exceptional talent Abhishek Sharma here in Dubai. He'll do wonders in years to come. pic.twitter.com/8u6RNMZooS

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) February 22, 2025

The two bumped into each other on Saturday night in Dubai ahead of the India vs Pakistan match. Abhishek recently scored a power-packed century against England in the 5-match T20I series in India.

Abhishek is yet to make his One Day International (ODI) debut for Team India. Recently, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly also praised Abhishek and urged him to make his ODI debut soon. ''The way Abhishek Sharma batted in the T20I series (against England) was unbelievable for a left-hander. There is no reason why he can’t play one-day cricket. A player like Abhishek Sharma would be in any cricket team in the world,'' Sourav said at an event in Kolkata.

For the unversed, Abhishek has played 17 T20I for India, scoring 535 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 193.85. So far, he has scored two centuries and two half-centuries in the format.