India star wants more titles following Asia Cup triumph

In-form India opener Abhishek Sharma wants to build on his excellent run at the Asia Cup and become an even more rounded player.

Abhishek played a major role in helping India to a ninth Asia Cup title, with the left-hander amassing 314 runs at an average of 44.85 across the event to be named the Player of the Tournament.

It has been a remarkable rise to stardom for Abhishek, who only made his international debut in July last year and has already put together an amazing batting record and is currently the No.1 ranked player on the ICC Men's T20I Batter Rankings.

Many players will be quite happy with what they have already achieved, but Abhishek wants to keep learning from the likes of coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav and further elevate his game prior to the next installment of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka at the start of 2026.

“I feel Surya bhai and Gautam sir have given me immense confidence," Abhishek said.

"When you play with high risk, there will be failures. But the way they handled me, the way they spoke to me at that time — because of that, I am able to play this way. It is very important to have that kind of support.

“I wanted to talk about Surya bhai first. As a batter, when you’re not scoring runs it’s very difficult. But as captain, he never let it show. Whether he scored a hundred or got out early, he was always smiling, always leading from the front.

"That’s the best quality I’ve seen in him, and I want to learn that balance.”

While Abhishek failed to continue his golden run when dismissed for just five in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan, it mattered little as teammate Tilak Varma (69*) filled the void to ensure India chased down their victory target with just two deliveries remaining in Dubai.

India appeared to be in trouble when opener Shubman Gill fell for just 12 in the fourth over to make it 20/3 in pursuit of Pakistan's total of 146, but Varma, Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33) kept their cool to guide the side home.

"The conversation was to take it as deep as possible. The target wasn't much, but it was important to soak in the pressure in the start," Gill said after the match.

"Losing three wickets early is never easy, but I think the way first the partnership for us with Sanju and Tilak, how they batted, and then how Dube came in and hit those big sixes for us was very important."

Gill paid tribute to the performances of Abhishek across the tournament and believes the 25-year-old is only going to get better with more experience.

"It's pretty amazing (to play with Abhishek Sharma)," Gill said.

"We have played almost all our cricket together, and I think we know each other pretty much inside out, and it's amazing to be able to bat with him.

"The way he bats, (he) takes off the pressure off the non-striker, whosoever is there, and he's been phenomenal this tournament."

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