Former Team India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh hailed young Indian cricketer Abhishek Sharma after his splendid century in the second T20I of the ongoing five-match series against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Sunday, July 7.
Abhishek made his arrival on the international stage with his maiden century for Team India. The 23-year-old played a brilliant innings of 100 off 47 balls at an impressive strike rate of 212.17.. He is the joint-fastest Indian batter alongside KL Rahul in terms of number of balls (46) and quickest Indian in terms of number of innings taken to score a century in T20Is.
Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), Yuvraj Singh took a reference of famous saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day' to highlight the hard work and effort put in by Abhishek Sharma to unlock first milestone of his international career.
"Rome wasn't built in a day! Congratulations @IamAbhiSharma4 on the journey to your first International 100! Many more to come." two-time World Cup winner wrote on X.
For unversed, Abhishek Sharma has been mentored by Yuvraj Singh. Former Indian all-rounder played a significant role in Abhishek's cricketing career growth over the last few years. Yuvraj's mentorship played a pivotal role in shaping young Punjab batter's skills and approach to the game.
Under the tutelage of Yuvraj, Abhishek Sharma has emerged as the attacking batter, which was evident in the IPL 2024 as well as in the second T20I against Zimbabwe.
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'Yuvi paaji has made a big contribution': Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma credited Yuvraj Singh and his father, Raj Kumar for helping him improve his game and consistently focusing on his skills.
"Yuvi paaji (Yuvraj Singh) has made a big contribution. I don’t consider myself as sixer-king or something like that. Special thanks to my dad for allowing me to play lofted shots." Abhishek said at the press-meet post the match.
Abhishek Sharma was added to the squad given his batting exploits in IPL 2024, where he amassed 484 runs, including three fifties, at an average of 32.26 and an impressive average of 204.21 in 16 matches.
Overall in T20 cricket, Abhishek Sharma has scored 2771 runs, including four centuries and 16 fifties, at an average of 30.45 and a strike rate of 154.80 in 106 matches.
