Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Abhishek Sharma endured a difficult start to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, registering three ducks in a row — a phase that left him in a poor state of mind. Looking back, he admitted that he reached out to his childhood friend Shubman Gill during that tough period. At the BCCI Naman Awards, the two shared a candid exchange.Gill was asked if he had offered Abhishek any advice before the tournament. With a smile, he replied, “No.1 T20I batsman in the world ko kaun advice dega” (Who is going to give advice to the world’s No. 1 T20I batter?), drawing laughter while also backing his teammate.
But Abhishek was quick to flip the narrative, bringing up his lean run before anyone else could.“Maine hi message kiya tha isko 3 duck ke baad ke mujhe bat de de, isse pehle koi aur record bann jae” (I was the one who messaged him after three ducks and told him to give me his bat, otherwise some other unwanted record would have been made), Abhishek said, laughing at his own struggles.“Usne bola tha, tu kar lega” (He told me, you’ll manage it).When asked whose bat he liked the most, Abhishek didn’t hesitate.“Shubman ka hi” (Shubman’s, of course), he said.Gill, in turn, added another layer to their camaraderie with a playful remark: “Woh mere bat se hi khelta hai hamesha” (He plays with my bat all the time anyway).Abhishek bounced back in style, scoring a blistering 52 off just 21 balls in the T20 World Cup final and giving India a solid start with a 98-run opening stand alongside Sanju Samson.India went on to crush New Zealand by 96 runs to clinch the title — their third T20 World Cup triumph after victories in 2007 and 2024.
