Abhishek Sharma, who emerged as the highest run-scorer in the Asia Cup 2025 with an impressive tally of 314 runs in seven matches and was named the Player of the Tournament, recently spoke about a pivotal period in his career and the crucial influence of his mentor Yuvraj Singh. Sharma recalled that during a challenging stretch, he struggled with inconsistent IPL performances and wasn’t even part of the playing XI, while contemporaries like Shubman Gill were making progress in international cricket. This led to self-doubt and a sense of falling behind as others from his age group continued to excel.
The turning point arrived through a transformative relationship with Yuvraj Singh. Abhishek described how, during the lockdown, he and fellow teammates Shubman Gill, Prabhsimran Singh, and Anmolpreet Singh would have camps at Yuvraj’s house, which was critical for his development. “I am very grateful. During the lockdown we would have camps at his place. Me, Shubman, Prabhsimran, Anmolpreet. Basically I needed it. We were going on a flight and I asked him if we could have a camp for a few days. He told yes right away. I was struggling a bit at that time, honestly. I was not consistent in the IPL and I was not even in the playing XI. Shubman was already playing for India,” said Abhishek during ‘Breakfast with Champions’.
Age Group Struggles
He added, “I started feeling that I was behind, as people from my age group were doing well already. We were having lunch at his place and paaji told me straight away that he was not preparing me for the state or the IPL or even to get a cap for India. He told me I am making you ready to win games for India. Write this and it will happen in the next two to three years. After that camp, I realized my goal is something else”.
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Yuvraj Singh Nurtured It
Abhishek further explained Yuvraj Singh’s deep involvement in nurturing young talent, revealing that the 2011 World Cup winner would spend hours watching his mentees’ batting videos, making notes, and taking screenshots from various angles to give detailed feedback. “He would sit at home and watch our videos, make notes from it, and then take screenshots from different videos to compare before and after. No one knows Yuvi paaji goes into this much detailing. And while we are practicing for over five hours, he will be there with us throughout,” Abhishek said.
In the aftermath of this mentorship and personal breakthrough, Abhishek Sharma stepped up for India in the Asia Cup, scoring 314 runs at a strike rate of 200 and an average of 44.85, also forming important partnerships with vice-captain Shubman Gill. Upon earning the Player of the Tournament award including a new car Sharma celebrated with his mentor Yuvraj Singh on a flight returning from Dubai after India’s five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final, sharing the moment on social media with a heartfelt photo captioned “No Caption Needed.” Yuvraj Singh kept in constant contact with Sharma throughout the Asia Cup, helping him with strategies and performance reviews for each opponent.