New Delhi: Abhishek Sharma He endured a tough start to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, losing three consecutive matches, which left him in a bad mental state. Looking back, he admits he reached out to his childhood friend Shubman Gill During that difficult time. The two had a candid exchange at the BCCI Naman Awards.Gill was asked if he had given any advice to Abhishek before the game. He smiled and replied: “No.1 T20I Batsman in the world ko kaun suggest dega” (Who is going to give advice to the world’s No. 1 T20I batsman?), which attracted laughter and cheered for his teammates.
But Abhishek soon turned the tables and came up with his lean run before anyone else.“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 the bat or else some other unwanted record will be created), Abhishek said with a smile, laughing at his own struggle.“Usne bola tha, tu kar Lega” (He told me, you will take care of it).Abhishek didn’t hesitate when asked whose bat he liked the most.“Shubman ka hi” (Shubman’s of course), he said.Gill added another layer to their camaraderie with a witty remark: “Woh mere bat se hi khelta hai hamesha” (Anyway, he kept playing with my bat).Abhishek made a strong comeback and scored a stunning 52 runs off just 21 balls in the T20 World Cup final and joined with Sanju Samson for a 98-run opening stand to get India off to a good start.India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs to win the title, their third T20 World Cup title after winning in 2007 and 2024.
