Abhishek Sharma would be the key for India to defend their title in the T20 World Cup 2026.
One of the greatest all-rounders, Yuvraj Singh, has mentored two youngsters, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, who are currently steering Indian cricket to greater heights in their respective, different styles.
The former Indian player opened up on the different personalities of the two Punjab batters and their respective ways of finding success to represent the national team. Gill had made his international debut in January 2019 and is currently the skipper of India in two of the three formats.
He was also appointed as the vice-captain in the T20Is, but was dropped from the squad just two months before hosting the T20 World Cup on home soil.
However, while Abhishek has joined him in the Indian dressing room a bit late, earning his debut cap in July 2024, the explosive opener has proved to be a match-winner for the Men in Blue in his limited appearances of only 37 T20I matches.
“Shubman was already playing for India. He is much smarter, more hardworking, greater work ethics. Abhishek is someone, we had to take him there. We had like a four-year plan, that if you do these things in these four years, then, with your talent, you could play for India,” said Yuvraj on Serving it Up with Sania.
Yuvraj thoroughly focused on shaping up the southpaw for the Indian team. The former all-rounder also discussed how the 25-year-old had obeyed his guidance to become India’s ace with the willow at the top of the batting order.
“I’m not here to motivate you to play for IPL. IPL is great, Ranji Trophy is great, but I’m here for you to play for the country. And four years he did what I told him, and exactly in four years and three months he played for India,” he added.
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Abhishek Sharma has completely changed the team’s approach to playing in the shortest format of the game. The batter is one of the key reasons behind India’s stellar, unbeaten run in the lead-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
The reigning champions and the co-hosts of the tournament will rely on the swashbuckling opener to continue producing some blazing knocks throughout the league in a bid to defend their T20 silverware. India will kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against the USA.
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