India opener Abhishek Sharma had a banger of an Asia Cup 2025. He scored 314 runs in 7 games with a strike rate of 200, including three fifties to his name. He was awarded the Player of the Tournament for his haul of runs, as India won the Asia Cup tournament by defeating Pakistan in the final on September 28.

Sharma had made his India T20I debut against Zimbabwe last year and scored a century in just his second T20I. However, he struggled for runs thereafter and was on the verge of being dropped from the team when captain Suryakumar Yadav came to his rescue and gave him some confidence.

Abhishek revealed that Yadav told him that since the management recognizes his talent and ability to give the team a strong start, he would still be given a chance in the starting lineup even if he scored 15 consecutive ducks.

“When I got selected for the Indian team, I got out early in 3-4 innings in the series against Bangladesh. He told me, 'You're such an important player for me that even if you do get out for 15 ducks, you will still play the next game. I can give it to you in writing.' I asked him, 'Paaji, are you sure?'” said Abhishek on the Breakfast with Champions show.

"It was such a big deal that the captain was saying this. He told me, “Get out as many times as you like, you'll still play. One thing became very clear to me: if I want to do well and make a name for myself, I have to do something different,” he added.

Abhishek also discussed the significance of playing aggressively, stating that he suppressed his natural impulses for far too long and that results began to appear when he played the game with a slam-bang style.

"That was striking the ball for me. I felt that I was stopping myself from doing that because I felt the pressure of playing a long game and keeping my wicket. I completely removed that from my head. I thought that I was doing that for the past 4 years. I need to trust myself. Even if I lose my wicket early, I will back myself throughout the season," he added.

Thanks to his Asia Cup performance, Abhishek Sharma set a record for the highest rating points in ICC T20I batting rankings, reaching a high of 931 points, breaking the record of Dawid Malan, who had 919 points.