‘Was with Yuvi paaji… had Brian Lara… Vettori was…’: Abhishek Sharma namedrops legends for playing special coaching role

‘Was with Yuvi paaji… had Brian Lara… Vettori was…’: Abhishek Sharma namedrops legends for playing special coaching role

‘Was with Yuvi paaji… had Brian Lara… Vettori was…’: Abhishek Sharma namedrops legends for playing special coaching role ByHT Sports Desk Jan 23, 2025 12:46 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Abhishek Sharma had special praise for three cricket legends, mentioning their roles in forming his career.

Abhishek Sharma was in sensational batting form in the first T20I between India and England on Wednesday, in Kolkata. The SRH star clobbered 79 runs off 34 balls, as India cruised to 133/3 in 12.5 overs in their chase of 132. It was a low-scoring chase as Tilak Varma (19*) and Hardik Pandya (6*) remained unbeaten for India.

Abhishek Sharma paid tribute to some cricket legends.

Initially, Jos Buttler (68) smacked a half-century as England posted 132 in 20 overs, with Varun Chakaravarthy taking three wickets for the hosts.

After the match, Abhishek hogged the spotlight and also credited some top legendary players for helping him in his career. The 24-year-old has had some cricketing greats working closely with him, while he came up the ranks, especially at SRH. “I believe I'm very lucky in this,” he said.

“I was working with Yuvi paaji [Yuvraj Singh] at first. Going forward, I had Brian Lara, who really helped me at SRH. Moving forward, Dan Vettori was pretty simple, he just wanted everyone to express themselves, and I think that gave me the freedom to play my shots. So obviously, with Yuvraj Singh, Brian Lara and even Gauti bhai right now, they just want me to showcase my talent the way I play and to back myself,” he added.

The Punjab native has become a talking point for Indian cricket fans since his heroics at IPL 2024. He has also been regarded as a replacement for senior batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and has been compared to legend Virender Sehwag. He is known to be a close friend of Yuvraj, whom he also considers a mentor.

He made his India debut in June last year, facing Zimbabwe in Harare. He has represented India in 13 T20Is since then, registering 335 runs at a strike rate of 183.06 and 27.92 average. During his short international career, he has also bagged a ton. India are set to face England in the second T20I, in Chennai on Saturday.

Why did Abhishek remember Yuvi, Lara & Vettori?अभिषेक शर्मा ने क्यों किया युवी, लारा,विटोरी को याद?