Abhishek Sharma emerged as the best batter in the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2025. The 25-year-old amassed 314 runs in 7 matches, including three consecutive half-centuries, and was adjudged the player of the tournament. His best score, 74, came against Pakistan in the Super 4 fixture, which India won by 6 wickets.
Abhishek returned home a star, but his success didn’t come overnight. The Punjab batter struggled at the outset of his career, even registering a duck on debut against Zimbabwe last year. Through those early setbacks, it was Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav who stood by him, assuring that he would remain in the playing XI even if he scored 15 ducks in a row.
Speaking in the latest episode of Breakfast With Champions, Abhishek revealed
how the captain’s faith shaped him into a better player.
“When I got selected in the Indian team, I got out early in 3-4 innings in the series against Bangladesh. He told me, ‘Tu agar 15 zero karega, agla match bhi tu hi khelega’ (You’re such an important player for me that even if you don’t get out for 15 ducks, you will still play the next game). I can give it to you in writing’. I asked him, ‘Paaji, are you sure?’,” said Abhishek.
“It was such a big deal that the captain was saying this. He told me, “Get out as many times, you’ll still play. One thing became very clear to me: if I want to do well and make a name for myself, I have to do something different,” he added.
Abhishek admitted that holding back his natural game cost him, and success only came once he embraced an aggressive, slam-bang approach.
“That was striking the ball for me. I felt that I was stopping myself from doing that because I felt the pressure of playing a long game and keeping my wicket. I completely removed that from my head,” said Abhishek.
“I thought that I was doing that for the past 4 years. I need to trust myself. Even if I lose my wicket early, I will back myself throughout the season,” he added.
Though the youngster couldn’t contribute much in the final against Pakistan, Abhishek scored more than 30 runs in six matches to stand out as the top scorer in the tournament.
