Left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma has become a household name after his stunning exploits in the IPL 2024 for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Thanks to his brilliance in the IPL, Abhishek earned his maiden India call-up during the recently held T20I tour of Zimbabwe. The 23-year-old announced his arrival to international cricket by smashing a dazzling century in just his second T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare.
After his maiden international ton, Abhishek Sharma highlighted the role that the former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh had in his career
Now, the southpaw has narrated an incident where Yuvraj came to his aid during Punjab’s Ranji Trophy fixture after he had sledged one of the opposition batters.
Recalling that event, Abhishek said Punjab’s plan was to go after a particular player on the opposing side and he had sledged the player when his side was bowling.
However, the sledging antics put him in trouble when he came out to bat in the next innings. Luckily for Sharma, his senior and now mentor Yuvraj took notice of the situation and came to his rescue.
“Yuvi paji was at the other end, he saw that something was bothering me. He asked me about it, and I told him that this guy was abusing me. Yuvi paji just gave him a look and the player instantly apologised,” Abhishek said while speaking on the YouTube channel, Second Innings with Manjot Kalra.
The youngster revealed that Yuvraj has been his role model and also shared the experience of his first meeting with the World Cup winner.
“He has always been my idol. In fact, I was inspired to take up the sport after the T20 World Cup win in 2007. I thought that I wanted to bat, bowl, and field like him. He has had a lot of influence on me. I just kept looking at him in the dressing room,” he remarked.
Abhishek Sharma continues to seek guidance from Yuvraj and his father Yograj Singh. “Even now whenever there is some confusion or doubt in my mind, I talk to Yuvraj Singh. I feel like I will get the answers from him. He keeps in touch, even Yograj sir. I practice with Yograj sir and he keeps all the updates. I really enjoy practising with Yograj sir,” he stated.
During the tour of Zimbabwe, Abhishek Sharma registered scores of 0, 100, 10 and 14 in four T20I innings. However, he has been overlooked for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka as India’s first-choice players made their return to the team.
(With Agency Inputs)
