Suryakumar Yadav told Abhishek Sharma, 'You'll play the 16th game even if you score 15 ducks': 'I said Are you sure?'

Abhishek Sharma reveals the conversation he had with India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav after having some failures.

Abhishek Sharma might be the toast of the town currently due to his exploits in the Asia Cup 2025, but there was a time when he was struggling to string together scores in the T20 format for India. The left-handed batter, who was recently adjudged as Player of the Tournament in the eight-team tournament for his haul of 314 runs, made his debut for the country last year in the series against Zimbabwe after India won the T20 World Cup. However, success didn't come consistently for the 25-year-old, as he continued to register low scores.

Abhishek Sharma was adjudged as Player of the Tournament in the Men's Asia Cup 2025. (AP)

It was then that he was given confidence by his captain, Suryakumar Yadav, who told him that even if he scored 15 ducks in a row, he would still be given a chance in the playing XI as the management realises his potential and ability to provide the team with a rollicking start.

During a conversation with Gaurav Kapur on Breakfast With Champions, the youngster revealed what the messaging of Suryakumar did for him and how it shaped him into a better player.

“When I got selected in the Indian team, I got out early in 3-4 innings in the series against Bangladesh. He told me, 'You're such an important player for me that even if you don't get out for 15 ducks, you will still play the next game. I can give it to you in writing'. I asked him, 'Paaji, are you sure?',” said Abhishek.

"That was striking the ball for me. I felt that I was stopping myself from doing that because I felt the pressure of playing a long game and keeping my wicket. I completely removed that from my head," said Abhishek.

"I thought that I was doing that for the past 4 years. I need to trust myself. Even if I lose my wicket early, I will back myself throughout the season," he added.

With his performance in the Asia Cup, Abhishek also reached the tally of 931 rating points, setting a record for batters in the ICC Men's T20I player rankings. The previous best was 919 attained by England's Dawid Malan in 2020.

Abhishek scored more than 30 runs in six matches of the Asia Cup 2025 edition, with his only failure coming in the summit clash against Pakistan.