'I was lucky to have...' - Abhishek Sharma expresses gratitude to his mentors for giving constant support in his career

Team India defeated England by seven wickets in the first T20I game, thanks to Abhishek Sharma's half-century and Varun Chakaravarthy's three wickets. Abhishek made 79 runs off 34 balls, hitting five boundaries and eight sixes. He turned into a beast during the game, making sure to trouble the English bowlers. At the press conference, he praised his mentors and expressed gratitude towards them for spending time with him and helping him in the game.  

Abhishek acknowledged the guidance of some great former players like Yuvraj Singh, Brian Lara and India's head coach Gautam Gambhir. He said, "I was lucky to have Yuvi Paaji early in my career. Then I had Brian Lara, and now Gauti Paaji. All of them have said to express myself." 

Yuvraj Singh has been a consistent supporter of Abhishek Sharma since the former player has also represented Punjab in domestic cricket. He was quite happy with the performance and made a cheeky tweet after the game. "Good start to the series boys! great tone set by our bowlers and well played sir!@IamAbhiSharma4 top knock ‘!! I’m impressed you hit 2 boundaries down the ground as well." The young batter has faced a lot of criticism regarding his performance in the past and the fact that he was unable to play grounded shots. However, against England, he was quite impressive. 

Abhishek got support from the Caribbean legend Lara in the IPL while playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Now the youngster is under the guidance of former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir and it looks like the head coach is going to back this youngster for a long time in T20I cricket.

A special mention to the captain and coach: Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma's mindblowing performance in the first T20I game against England helped India clinch victory. The player went on to thank the captain and the coach for backing him and giving him the platform to showcase his talent. He praised the bowlers as well for their magnificent performance in the game. 

"I just wanted to express myself. A special mention to the captain and coach. They have given us a lot of freedom. The way they talk to youngsters, it's tremendous. It was a double-paced wicket. Our bowlers bowled well, they were really good. I thought we would chase something around 160-170, but the bowlers bowled really well," said Abhishek Sharma.