Abhishek Sharma shares how Yuvraj Singh passed on his DNA: “I am making you ready to win games for India”

After hanging up his boots, Yuvraj Singh shifted to coaching youngsters, and the results have been brilliant so far. One of the best products of his training is Abhishek Sharma. The left-handed opener has mesmerized the world with his aggressive batting and emerged as the outright match-winner for India in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

Abhishek shares how Yuvraj passed on the DNA

The southpaw recently made an appearance on the YouTube show Breakfast With the Champions, hosted by Gaurav Kapoor. In the interaction, Abhishek shared how Yuvraj’s influence transformed his career.

“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,” Abhishek said.

While speaking on how Yuvraj Singh inspired him to aim for the bigger stage, Abhishek shared, “I was not consistent in IPL, and I was not even in the playing XI. Shubman was already playing for India. 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 of 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 or three years. After that camp, I realized my goal is something else.”

Further, during the interaction, Abhishek Sharma shared an interesting detail from his sessions with Yuvraj. He stated that the former Indian cricketer would not just give throwdowns and advise them; instead, he would fully analyse their batting and share great insights. “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,” he shared.

The Yuvi influence on Abhishek Sharma

Experts, fans, and critics have often said that Abhishek Sharma’s batting reminds them of Yuvraj Singh. The fact that both are left-handed batters helps, but Abhishek adds to it with his aggressive intent. During his playing days, Yuvraj Singh showed no respite to even the best of the bowlers in the world. He never shied away from taking down the opponent even in the crucial stages of a match, and that often paid off, putting him on the front foot.

These instincts have been reflected in Abhishek in his still young career. So far, he has never been fazed by the occasion or the bowler he is facing. He concentrates on his strengths and looks to maximise his skills to the best of his team’s interests.