Abhishek Sharma flies kites with Bollywood star on Lohri ahead of IND vs NZ 2026 T20Is [Watch]

India opener Abhishek Sharma celebrated Lohri on Tuesday, January 13, by flying kites alongside popular Indian singer AP Dhillon in Amritsar. The star batter recently represented Punjab in the group-stage matches of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, where he featured in three games, scoring 86 runs and picking up three wickets.

On the festive occasion, the 25-year-old took some time off to spend the day in his hometown, enjoying the celebrations with AP Dhillon, family members, and friends, while indulging in traditional kite flying.

Watch the clip below:

Meanwhile, Abhishek’s next international assignment will be the five-match home T20I series against New Zealand, set to begin on Wednesday, January 21, in Nagpur. The team, however, will be without left-hander Tilak Varma for the first three matches, as he has been ruled out following surgery for an abdominal issue, with the BCCI yet to announce a replacement.

Here is the Men in Blue squad for the series: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma (available for the last two games), Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Abhishek Sharma has 6 fifties and 2 centuries to his credit in T20Is

Abhishek Sharma made his India debut in a T20I against Zimbabwe in July 2024, but endured a disappointing start, being dismissed for a four-ball duck. He bounced back strongly in the very next match, announcing his arrival on the international stage with a 100 off 47 balls.

Since then, the left-hander has featured in 33 T20Is, scoring 1,115 runs in 32 innings at an impressive average of 35.96 and a strike rate of 188.02, including six half-centuries and two centuries. The 25-year-old is currently the ICC No.1 ranked T20I batter, with 908 rating points.