India's hero at the Asia Cup 2025, Abhishek Sharma, has revealed the massive backing he received from Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav when he entered the Indian T20I team.
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The southpaw opener played a crucial role in India's title-winning campaign at the Asia Cup 2025, finishing as the tournament's leading run scorer: scoring 314 runs in seven innings.
What did Suryakumar Yadav tell Abhishek Sharma?
In a recent podcast with Oaktree Sports, India's young opener Abhishek Sharma highlighted how Suryakumar Yadav backed him when the young star made it to the Indian setup and faced some initial failures opening the batting for India.
"When I got selected in the India team, I got out early in 3-4 innings in the series against Bangladesh. He told me, "You are such an important player for me that even if you score ducks in 15 straight games, you will still play the sixteenth game," said Abhishek. "I asked him, 'Paaji, are you sure?' It was a really big thing for a captain to say that," he added.
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Despite recent struggles, Abhishek was quick to respond. The left-handed opener smashed a record-breaking ton in India's T20I series against England and has been consistently performing ever since.
His ability to score big runs in the first six overs allows India to take games away from their opponent.
As India's T20I captain, Suryakumar has repeatedly stated that he is a skipper who will back players and give them an extended run. As India prepares for the T20 World Cup in 2026, it focuses on preparing a core team to help it defend their title.
Abhishek's next challenge will be to continue his good run in India's upcoming series against Australia. India is scheduled to tour Australia for a white-ball series later this month.