Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma had a scintillating Indian Premier League season. The left-hander scored 484 runs at an average of 32.27 and a strike rate of 204.7. On the back of a stellar season, the 23-year-old has got India call up for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe starting on Saturday.
Speaking to this publication after the IPL final which SRH took a thumping against Kolkata Knight Riders Abhishek’s father Rajkumar Sharma would reveal “He was always talented. As you have heard so many times, Yuvraj Singh has himself said that Abhishek is even better than him and he sees a bit of himself in him. But consistency has been an issue. He has realized it lately, courtesy of the rise of Shubman (Gill), his best friend. They have opened for Punjab since their U-14 days and he has seen Shubman’s rise very closely.”
“Shubman was the first to call me as soon as my name came out,” Abhishek recalled speaking on a video released by BCCI. I got a lot of calls and love. It was a big thing for me. When I went home I saw that everyone was already giving interviews! I hadn’t even come into the picture and all my family members were giving interviews (laughs). I think that was one moment I’ll always remember,” he added.
“I just had one dream from Day 1 of professional cricket – I have to play for India. [I knew] the first call-up would be very special. That’s where my journey would start. I knew if I kept working hard, I’d get my chance. But I didn’t know it’ll be in Zimbabwe or outside India,” Abhishek further added.
“I have watched his few IPL games over the years and now I have told him I will watch the match live when he will be making India debut. That’s the dream we both share,” Rajkumar added.
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