Harare, after smashing a 47-ball century, Abhishek Sharma said he used the bat of his childhood friend, and now his captain here, Shubman Gill, in the second T20I against Zimbabwe, with the opener calling it an amulet of luck in a “pressure”. game” for him.
After being dismissed for nothing in Saturday's opener, Abhishek, a day later, hit seven fours and eight sixes in his even hundred, setting the stage for India's comprehensive 100-run victory.
Abhishek described his journey with Gill, which started in the under-12 category, as “beautiful”.
“He has been quite beautiful, from children of 11 to 12 years old. Yes, we played together since U-12. When I was selected for the country, the first call I got was from Shubman,” Abhishek said in the post-match press meet.
Abhishek said playing with Gill's bat has been a practice he has followed since age-group cricket.
“Today I played with his bat, special thanks to the bat. It happened since the U-12, since every time I play a pressure game I ask him for a bat.
“This happened in the IPL too. Today was no exception and everything went well, as it usually does,” Abhishek said.
The left-hander also thanked former India batsman Yuvraj Singh and his own father for the brave cricket he was able to play now.
“Yuvi paaji (Yuvraj Singh) has made a great contribution. I don't consider myself a sixer-king or anything like that. Special thanks to my dad for allowing me to play overhead shots.
“Generally, coaches don't allow a young batsman to hit fly balls. But my dad always said that if you wanted to hit a high shot, then you had to get off the ground. So he wanted to pursue that,” he explained.
So was there pressure on him ahead of his international T20I debut, which he made in the first match here on Saturday?
“I think the IPL plays an important role in this (handling pressure). We didn't feel much pressure when we came here to represent the country as debutants.
“Unfortunately we didn't start the first game well. But my mindset and approach were quite similar: show the right intention.”
The 23-year-old was dismissed in the opening over himself for a four-ball duck in the first match. But for Abhishek, it wasn't enough to transform his way of thinking or his approach.
“This is my game and I will try to shoot from the first ball if it is in my slot. If it's my day, then it works, and if it's not, then I don't care. I practice a lot for this mentality,” he said.
However, Abhishek said that he implemented the game plan much better than him in the second match.
“Of course, my execution was better today than yesterday. He was just calculating the risk he should take in the first over, or whether to play on the merit of the ball.
"Every time I get boundaries or sixes on the first balls, I think it's my day," he concluded.
After being dismissed for nothing in Saturday's opener, Abhishek, a day later, hit seven fours and eight sixes in his even hundred, setting the stage for India's comprehensive 100-run victory.
Abhishek described his journey with Gill, which started in the under-12 category, as “beautiful”.
“He has been quite beautiful, from children of 11 to 12 years old. Yes, we played together since U-12. When I was selected for the country, the first call I got was from Shubman,” Abhishek said in the post-match press meet.
Abhishek said playing with Gill's bat has been a practice he has followed since age-group cricket.
“Today I played with his bat, special thanks to the bat. It happened since the U-12, since every time I play a pressure game I ask him for a bat.
“This happened in the IPL too. Today was no exception and everything went well, as it usually does,” Abhishek said.
The left-hander also thanked former India batsman Yuvraj Singh and his own father for the brave cricket he was able to play now.
“Yuvi paaji (Yuvraj Singh) has made a great contribution. I don't consider myself a sixer-king or anything like that. Special thanks to my dad for allowing me to play overhead shots.
“Generally, coaches don't allow a young batsman to hit fly balls. But my dad always said that if you wanted to hit a high shot, then you had to get off the ground. So he wanted to pursue that,” he explained.
So was there pressure on him ahead of his international T20I debut, which he made in the first match here on Saturday?
“I think the IPL plays an important role in this (handling pressure). We didn't feel much pressure when we came here to represent the country as debutants.
“Unfortunately we didn't start the first game well. But my mindset and approach were quite similar: show the right intention.”
The 23-year-old was dismissed in the opening over himself for a four-ball duck in the first match. But for Abhishek, it wasn't enough to transform his way of thinking or his approach.
“This is my game and I will try to shoot from the first ball if it is in my slot. If it's my day, then it works, and if it's not, then I don't care. I practice a lot for this mentality,” he said.
However, Abhishek said that he implemented the game plan much better than him in the second match.
“Of course, my execution was better today than yesterday. He was just calculating the risk he should take in the first over, or whether to play on the merit of the ball.
"Every time I get boundaries or sixes on the first balls, I think it's my day," he concluded.
