Method to madness: Abhishek Sharma on self-belief, fearlessness, and the Yuvraj Singh influence

Mumbai: In a format as fickle as T20 cricket in which a batter is destined for more failures than success, India's newest power-hitter Abhishek Sharma has learnt quite early that self-belief and fearlessness are essential to increase the probability of a favourable outcome.

It has not yet been a full year since the Punjab batter arrived at the international stage on the back of high promise in domestic cricket, including an immensely successful IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024.

But at only 24, Abhishek has begun threatening records which took several years for others to create.

His maiden T20I century was the joint-third fastest for any Indian (46 balls) in only his second match. On Sunday against England, his second T20I ton was the second fastest for any Indian (37 balls).

In between, he smacked a 28-ball century to claim the joint-fastest hundred for any Indian in the prestigious Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.

What is the secret of such towering success at a young age, one would wonder. The answer is not too complex for Abhishek, who grew up partnering Shubman Gill for Punjab in the opening slot.

Yuvraj Singh's imprints on Abhishek's flourish are hard to miss but to his credit, he has reciprocated on the field all that the great Indian all-rounder has sounded to him in their countless sessions in myriad set-ups over the last few years.

"The focus was very much clear (during practice). Yuvi Paaji put all these things in my mind three or four years back," Abhishek told the media after his 54-ball 135 (13x6s, 7x4s) became the highest individual total by an Indian in T20Is, surpassing his friend Gill (126 off 63 balls in 2023).

"Yuvi paaji was the one to believe in me, and when someone like Yuvraj Singh is telling you that you are going to play for the country and you are going to win the games, obviously you try to think that 'okay I will play for India and I will do my best'," he said.

"They (Yuvraj and Punjab coach Wasim Jaffer) have played a major role in my cricketing career and they are going to continue doing that. But as I have said before, it is all because of him (Yuvraj)," he said.

It is only natural for a young cricketer to have self-doubt and insecurities, but Abhishek's success story tells that believing in the trust shown by well-wishers can go a long way in dealing with those. This support system also includes the Indian team management.

"Because of the way he (Yuvraj) has treated me in the past and (during) every innings, he is someone who is always there for me," said Abhishek, who made 484 runs in 16 IPL matches in 2024 at a strike rate of 204.21 with three fifties.

"He is the one guy I have always listened to and I think he knows better than me so I believe that," he added.

Abhishek said the confidence given to him by the team management to go all-out and not worry about failures also helps.

"I didn't do well in few matches before this series and when your captain and coach tell you that 'you have to play like this and we are backing you, and we will be there for you always', as a youngster, that is the biggest motivation, I would say," he said.

"In South Africa, I remember Hardik (Pandya) Paaji and Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) Paaji telling me that you will 100 per cent make some runs, but just believe in yourself'."

"In this series, obviously, Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) Paaji came back and then Surya Paaji. I feel really grateful that the way they believe in me. That's not normal for any player because that's the biggest motivation I would say for any young cricketer,” he said.

And then there was Brian Lara who rates him very highly and gave him an idea that made a huge difference to his approach. He lit up the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2023-24 with 485 runs in 10 matches at 48.50 with two hundreds and three fifties. His runs came at a strike rate of 192.46.

"I practiced a lot of match scenarios. I did a lot of open nets. But there was one thing in my mind that Brian Lara had (once) told me, 'play your shots but make sure you don't get out'.

"I used to be careful that I won't get out to any bowler. That really helped me in these few years," he said.

While he has shown incredible promise in an incredibly unpredictable format, Abhishek knows how far he can go in making or breaking records, like Yuvraj's six sixes in an over.

"I don't think that record can be broken anytime soon. I don't know if it can be broken at all. But if you consciously think about it while going in, then it won't happen,” he said.

"I think when you play your normal game, there are situations where you are in a zone and able to execute. I had asked Yuvi Paaji as well. He did not have any such plan of hitting six sixes but it happens when you are on the spot in such a zone," Abhishek added.