Suryakumar lauds Abhishek’s work ethic ahead of T20 World Cup

Abhishek Sharma has emerged as India’s opening star since his debut, cementing his place as one of the most explosive batters in world cricket.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav praised the youngster’s work ethic off the field, highlighting it as a key factor behind his success.

**“**I feel his strongest quality is a lot of hard work, which is involved in what he does the day before the game, two days, three days before the game. All these things are not seen.” said Yadav.

“No one sees when a player is on the field, in the hotel, in the gym. Spending some time in the pool. These are the qualities, I mean everyone does that, all the players do, but I’ve seen him follow that relentlessly now and he’s doing that really well. And he’s sticking to the process.”

Abhishek made his debut against Zimbabwe in 2024 and since then has been a mainstay in the Indian set-up.

The 25-year-old has amassed 1115 runs in the 33 games he has played in, but the striking feature of his batting has been his strike rate of 188.02.

Since their triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup, India have embraced a more aggressive approach in the shortest format, consistently outbatting their opponents.

Suryakumar highlighted how Abhishek’s quick starts at the top of the order have played a key role in setting the tone and spreading this attacking brand of cricket throughout the team.

“He's tasted that success, he knows what is required if he has to be the same going forward till whenever he plays this format." said Yadav.

“He has understood at a young age. It’s good. They’ve made my job easy. I wanted everyone to play this brand of cricket. He starts at the top and he’s guiding everyone.”

Abhishek has consistently provided India with explosive starts, playing a crucial role in the team’s success as they have lost just five matches since the 2024 T20 World Cup final.

During this period, he has emerged as the backbone of India’s T20I side and has climbed to the top of the ICC No.1 rankings.

Abhishek now prepares to feature in his first-ever World Cup for India as the defending champions begin their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against USA in Mumbai.

India T20 World Cup squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.