Legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara, who has been watching Abhishek Sharma since 2020 as the coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has revealed that the newborn’ star in India’s T-20 cricket has a desire to represent India regularly in Test cricket rather than confining himself to a T-20 specialist.
Speaking at the CEAT Cricket Awards, Lara revealed that Abhishek has ambitions of representing India in Tests and ODIs as well and is currently training under the guidance of Yuvraj Singh to realise that goal.
Abhishek Sharma lit up the T-20 circuit in 2024. After a standout Indian Premier League season, the left-handed, aggressive batsman rocked the cricket fraternity, being the top scorer in the recently-concluded Asia Cup, scoring 314 runs with an amazing strike-rate of 200.
Lara revealed, “I know Abhishek from my time at SRH. I was there during the COVID years. He is an amazing young player, and I think he is something very special. Yuvraj Singh had a big influence on him. His bat speed, the way he hits the ball, the way he plays through the line, shows the Yuvraj effect in him.”
Under Yuvraj’s mentorship, Abhishek has already racked up seven T20 hundreds, including two international cricket— one against Zimbabwe and another against England. Lara also revealed that the youngster occasionally reaches out to him for advice and stays in touch despite his rise in stature.
“He gives me a call once in a while, and what stands out is that despite his success in T20s, he still wants to find a way to get into the Test team, which is great. For someone like that to think so big is very special,” Lara added.
Lara also divulged, “I’ve grown very fond of him. It’s great to see how much he has improved and how far he has come. He’s taken his game to another level.”
