Indian T20I opener Abhishek Sharma recently shared a humorous story about Test captain Shubman Gill from their Under-16 days. According to Abhishek, Shubman was the one player who always managed to escape getting caught for mischief when they were juniors. The 25-year-old recounted an incident when five players caused trouble during a bus ride in Dharamsala but the bus drivers refused to blame Gill.
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Shubman – Abhishek Bond
Abhishek said, “There is one guy who did a lot of mischief in age-group cricket but never got caught, and that is Shubman. I will tell you an incident. We were in Dharamsala for Under-16. Our hotel was 500 meters away from the stadium. We used to go there by bus. The driver was stopping the music, but we wanted to play Punjabi songs. He said no, and we got into an argument with him. And the one who was shouting the most was Shubman. The incident went to the coaches and the drivers complained.”
“When the coaches and the drivers were asked to identify who was involved, there were 4-5 of us standing in a line and Shubman was last. The coach pointed towards each of us and asked the drivers. They said no, it was not him. I was shocked. The four of us were called out and made to sign a letter that would send us back home. I was sad that how come the one who started it was not called out. He has a talent to change expressions. He made an innocent face that day,” Abhishek narrated on the “Breakfast with Champions” show.
Abhishek also credited his father’s strict coaching during his formative years. He said, “In the beginning, I felt that as a youngster, even if you are talented, till your Under-19 days, you need someone who can push you. That was my dad. He was a different coach. He was very strict. But I also feel I needed someone like that for the way I was. I would be scared. Even if I was out in any game by hitting a lofted shot, I would not sit next to him while he was driving. I would sit behind. He would start anytime talking about my shot selection.”
The Punjab left-hander made his T20I debut for India against Zimbabwe in July 2024. Currently, he is ranked number one in the world T20I batting list with 931 ranking points.
Asia Cup 2025
Abhishek Sharma was the Player of the Tournament, finishing as the highest run-scorer with 314 runs in 7 innings at an average of 44.85 and a blistering strike rate of 200.00. He smashed 19 sixes and three half-centuries, breaking several records:First batter to score 300+ runs in a T20 Asia Cup edition.
Broke Virat Kohli’s record for most runs by an Indian in a multi-nation T20I tournament (previously 319 in 2014 T20 World Cup).
Hit the most sixes in a single Asia Cup edition (16 before the final, surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya’s 14 from 2008).
Achieved seven consecutive 30+ scores in T20Is (joint-record with Rohit Sharma and Mohammad Rizwan)