Indian opener Abhishek Sharma's father, Rajkumar Sharma, opened up about advising his son not to question his attacking approach ahead of the second T20I against Zimbabwe on Sunday, July 7.
India’s star cricketer Abhishek Sharma’s father, Rajkumar Sharma, talked openly about his advice to his son not to question his aggressive style ahead of the second T20I match against Zimbabwe on July 7 at Harare Sports Club. The 23-year-old cricketer tried to hit a six in the first match of the series to start his international career, but he was dismissed for a duck. However, the southpaw heeded his father’s advice and struck the six in the second T20I game against Zimbabwe. The left-handed batter becomes the third-fastest Indian batter to complete a T20I century.
The hard-hitting opening batter hammered 100 runs from just 47 balls, featuring seven boundaries and eight sixes, with a solid strike rate of 213 to guide India to a 234/2 in the given 20 overs. However, during the chase, the Sikandar Raza-led side were bundled out for just 134 runs, which helped Shubman Gill led-India level up the series.
THE MOMENT ABHISHEK SHARMA BECOMES THE QUICKEST INDIAN TO SCORE A T20I CENTURY. (Innings).pic.twitter.com/SYzS5XNyea
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 7, 2024
Meanwhile, his father, Rajkumar Sharma, gave an interview to the Indian Express following the game, expressing what he had said to his son in the wake of the dismal first game a.
“He wanted to get off the mark with a six. He misread the length and couldn’t connect it. But today, he not only started his innings with a six but also completed his century with the maximum (hat-trick of sixes),” Rajkumar Sharma said to the Indian Express from Amritsar.
– Six to open the account in Intl.
– Six to complete maiden fifty.
– Six to complete maiden hundred.TAKE A BOW, ABHISHEK SHARMA 🥶 pic.twitter.com/c6tabOYfSh
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 7, 2024
Also Read: Shubman Gill identifies where India lost the game
He further revealed that the left-handed batter was extremely disappointed when he was dismissed for golden duck during his debut game, which resulted in the loss to the team that even failed to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup. His father said that he encouraged Abhiskek Sharma to have belief in his batting ability ahead of the second T20I. He further claimed that Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma had opened for the Punjab in U-14, and they both can single-handedly make a solid partnership for Team India in the future to thwart opponents.
The century celebration at Abhishek Sharma’s home. 🥹❤️pic.twitter.com/vybOY7lwLb
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 8, 2024
“He was a bit dejected. I reminded him that his six-hitting ability has helped him reach here. Why change your style now, stick to your strength. With Shubman being the captain, it has also helped. The duo has opened for Punjab since their U-14 days and now they are opening for India. Mark my words, these two will forge a destructive opening partnership and will win many games for India in the future,” he added further.
However, it will be interesting to see whether the southpaw will get the chance in the next three T20Is owing to the presence of Yashasvi Jaiswal as an opener against Zimbabwe.
Also Read: Abhishek Sharma smashes a hat-trick of sixes to reach maiden international century
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