India’s opener Abhishek Sharma revealed captain Suryakumar Yadav backed him to the hilt when he failed to hit the ground running after making his debut. Sharma was dismissed for a duck on his debut against Zimbabwe when Shubman Gill led the team.

The left-hander revealed Suryakumar Yadav told him that he would be his opener even if he fails to open his account in 15 consecutive matches. Sharma said the backing really helped him in playing his natural aggressive role and he was able to deliver the goods.

The youngster had a breakthrough run in the Asia Cup, amassing 314 runs in seven matches at a blistering strike rate of 200. Thus, Abhishek was awarded Player of the Tournament for his sublime form.

“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 get out for 15 ducks, you will still play the next game. I can give it to you in writing,’” Abhishek recalled on Breakfast with Champions.

“It was such a big deal that the captain was saying this. One thing became very clear to me — that if I want to do well and make a name for myself, I have to do something different,” he added.

Abhishek also credited his shift to aggressive batting for his turnaround. “For far too long, I curbed my natural instincts. That was striking the ball for me. I felt I was stopping myself because of the pressure of playing a long game. I completely removed that from my head,” he explained. “Even if I lose my wicket early, I will back myself throughout the season.”

Sharma is the number one T20I batter in the ICC rankings with 931 rating points, which is the highest ever for any batter.