Abhishek Sharma on his steady rise to the top, and also says that “There will be more miracles going forward.”
‘I wouldn’t have learned some things’ – Abhishek Sharma happy with gradual rise to the top.
According to India opener Abhishek Sharma, he would not have “learnt some things” if he had taken the lift to the national squad like some of his 2018 Under-19 World Cup teammates, like as Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw.
“There have been ups and downs,” Abhishek said at the end of the Asia Cup, where he was the Player of the Tournament. “Some players get in easily. Some come in after some difficulty. But I feel this [domestic grind] was necessary. If I had made it quicker as a [national team] player, I wouldn’t have learned some things.”
Gill made his breakthrough in early 2019, while Shaw was promoted to the national team and made his Test debut in 2018. The pivotal moment for Abhishek didn’t occur until 2021, after the pandemic, by which point he had improved his skills. He changed from a middle-order finisher and occasional left-arm spinner to an opener with improved power hitting skills under Yuvraj Singh’s tutelage.
With 314 runs in seven innings, including three consecutive half-centuries before the final, Abhishek finished the Asia Cup as the leading scorer. With 261 runs, Pathum Nissanka came in a far second.
“Since the time I have been in the [national] team, I have not felt this is a pressure match. We prepared for every match in the same way,” he said. “Surya bhai [Suryakumar Yadav] and GG [Gautam Gambhir] bhai have given me confidence. When you want to play a high-risk game, failures do come. But the way they handled me, I am able to play like this because of that.”
“It is very important to get such support from the team,” he said. “We have been wanting to play this brand of cricket with intent from the start. Irrespective of the opposition, we will continue playing like this.
“I’ve had more time to work on a few things. So I’ve worked a lot on those things. I feel this is the start for the team. There will be more miracles going forward.”