Abhishek Sharma has given the Indian Premier League credit for making sure that young players who make it to the national team have an easy transition. In only his second T20I, Abhishek thrilled the Harare audience with a match-winning 46-ball century, emulating his IPL 2024 goal. In the second T20I, India crushed Zimbabwe, and his century guaranteed that the series remained level.
“I think IPL plays a big role in this because as a youngster, as a debutant, we didn’t feel much pressure when we came to represent the country,” said Abhishek. “Playing for your nation usually provides a lot of inspiration. Sadly, yesterday’s game didn’t go as planned, but my attitude and intentions remained the same. I spoke with the other new players as well; we’ve all played cricket together since, oh, U14 days. In my opinion, the key to success in T20 is approach and intent. This is how it generally works if I express my objective and it’s my day.”
Abhishek blasted eight sixes in his rapid innings, and he gave appreciation to former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for helping him improve. “All this is due to the hard work I’ve done,” he stated. “A special thank you to my father, who even as a child always pushed me to play lofted shots. Coaches typically don’t let you play many lofted shots. When I wanted to play a lofted shot, my dad would always remind me that it should leave the ground. I have always enjoyed expressing myself when I am confident, even as a little child.”
The youthful opener said that, like he has done on several occasions in the past, he had borrowed Shubman Gill’s bat for the match. The two athletes, who were from the same state, had spent their early childhoods playing together.
“Looking back, the journey has been very beautiful,” said Abhishek. “We have been playing together since U12 and were about 10 or 11 years old when we first started. Representing the nation was the ultimate objective. I have already said that Shubman was overjoyed when I received his initial contact regarding selection.
“Today, I used Shubman’s bat for play, and it went pretty well. I’m incredibly grateful to him for the bat. I have been doing this since the U12 days. I take his bat anytime I feel like I have to perform in a game or tournament. I even beg for his bat during the IPL. It went pretty nicely even today.”
Given that the first-choice team having just won the T20 World Cup a few days before, Abhishek acknowledged that the players were dissatisfied after losing the first game of the series. After winning a T20 World Cup, the players found it upsetting to lose a match like manner.
“After the loss, none of us withdrew into our shells; rather, we came together and reflected on the years of hard work we had put in and how, because this was our final objective, we should appreciate it and go on to the next thing. The mentality was to go on to the next game and forget about the previous one.”
The third game of the series, which is now knotted at one, will take place at the same location on July 10.
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