Abhishek Sharma credits Yuvraj Singh and his father after maiden ton: 'Yuvi paaji made big contribution'

Abhishek Sharma lit the international stage on fire with a blistering maiden century on Sunday which helped India level the T20I series 1-1 against Zimbabwe. After losing the first match by 13 runs, India needed something special to bounce in the second T20I which was scheduled less than 24 hours after the first game was over. And that special impetus came from Abhishek’s bat who hit India’s joint-third fastest T20I hundred in just 46 balls to propel India to a match-winning total of 234/2.

Zimbabwe, in reply, were bowled out for 34 as the Men in Blue won by 100 runs .

After his heroics in the middle, Abhishek Sharma revealed that he was using captain Shubman Gill’s bat on Sunday, a practice that he followed in pressure games since age-group cricket.

“Today, I played with his bat, so special thanks to the bat. It happened from the under-12 days, as whenever I play a pressure game I ask him for a bat," said Abhishek in the post-match press meet.

“It had happened in the IPL as well. Today was no exception as it went well as it usually happens.”

The southpaw also reflected on his journey with Gill which started from the under-12 category. “It has been quite beautiful, starting as kids of 11-12 years. Yeah, we are playing together from Under-12. When I was selected for the country, the first call I received was from Shubman,” he said.

The opener thanked India legend Yuvraj Singh and his father for helping him become a power-hitter.

“Yuvi paaji (Yuvraj Singh) has made a big contribution. I don’t consider myself as sixer-king or something like that. Special thanks to my dad for allowing me to play lofted shots," he said.

“Generally, coaches don’t allow a young batter to hit lofted shots. But my dad always said if you wanted to play a lofted shot then it should go out of the ground. So, I wanted to follow that.”

Abhishek added that IPL has helped him to deal with pressure and despite getting out for a duck on his debut, he never thought about changing his attacking playing style.

“I think the IPL plays a big role in this (handling pressure). We did not feel much pressure when we came here to represent the country as debutants.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t start well in the first match. But my mindset and approach were pretty much similar – to show the right intent.”

“This is my game and I will go for the shot from the first ball if it’s there in my slot. If it’s my day then it works out, and if it does not, then I don’t mind. I practice a lot for this mindset,” he added.

He, however, concluded that the execution of his gameplan came off much better in the second T20I.

“Of course, my execution was better today than yesterday. I was just calculating the risk that I should take in the first over, or whether to play according to the merit of the ball.

“Whenever I get boundaries or sixes in the first few balls then I believe that it’s my day,” he signed off.