Indian opener Abhishek Sharma’s father, Rajkumar Sharma, has revealed that former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has played a key role in getting the best out of his son. Sharma has been training under Singh’s tutelage and the left-hander is grabbing his opportunities at the top level.

The left-hander scored a match-winning knock of 74 runs off just 39 balls in the high-octane clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. India was chasing 172 runs for the win, and Sharma’s blistering knock helped the team register a six-wicket win. 

The southpaw has been ticking the right boxes in T20Is, and he is the number one batter in the ICC rankings.

“Yuvi paaji played a big role in the upliftment of Abhishek’s game. Yuvraj is his guru, and he always shares his experience with Abhishek. If a player who has won India two World Cups on his own teaches a player who is under his tutelage, he will naturally become a top-level cricketer,” Abhishek’s father told The Times of India.

Rajkumar revealed that Yuvraj has told Abhishek to always play according to the match situation.

“Yuvraj’s main guru mantra to Abhishek has always been: ‘play according to the situation of the game’. He also wants Abhishek to make the match for India. His batting should be such that he plays for the team and wins games for India and not play for his individual self,” he added.

Rajkumar lauded his son’s six-hitting abilities and said he picks up the line and length very quickly, which helps him stay ahead in the contest.

“His six-hitting ability is God-gifted. He has a tremendous eye and picks up the line and length of the ball very quickly, a few seconds before any other batter. That’s why he can hit those sixes so consistently. His timing is also very natural. Whenever the ball meets his bat, the timing is so exquisite that the ball travels beyond the boundary ropes easily,” Raj said.

India will next take on Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Wednesday.