Abhishek Sharma lit up the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai with a 37-ball century during the fifth T20I against England on Sunday (February 2). It was his second century in the format after playing 17 T20Is and is striking at almost 194 in his short career so far. India’s T20I team transformed after winning the World Cup last year with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announcing retirement from the format.
However, with the first-choice players being preferred in Tests since then, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who should’ve opened in an ideal situation, have not featured in T20Is. With the T20 World Cup set to be played in India and Sri Lanka next year, the duo is bound to return to the team most probably after the Indian Premier League (IPL). What happens to Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson then who’ve opened together in the last few series?
Well, team India selectors certainly have a happy headache to address later but Abhishek Sharma is not fretting over the competition for places in the team. Instead, the left-hander is happy that all of the three players who were together during the Under-16 days are now playing for India. The trio also met in Mumbai at the BCCI Awards function on Saturday (February 1).
“I had met Jassu [Jaiswal] and Shubman yesterday [at the BCCI awards]. There has never been a competition among us – we are playing together since Under-16. There was just one dream – to play for India. The three of us are playing now, so there is no better feeling,” Abhishek added.
Related Stories
India on top among 104 countries, Suryakumar Yadav and his men create history in Mumbai vs EnglandWhat is Abhishek Sharma’s IPL 2025 salary?Abhishek Sharma joins Kohli, Surya and Gill in special list with 135-run knock vs England
Having said that, the kind of form the 24-year-old is in, it seems unlikely that he would be left out of the team even if the first-choice players return. Both Jaiswal and Gill will have to shine in the IPL at any cost now to make a comeback following solid efforts from Samson and Abhishek.
