'I wouldn't have learned some things' - Abhishek happy with gradual rise to the top

India opener Abhishek Sharma is happy he took the stairs and not the elevator to the national team like some of his 2018 Under-19 World Cup team-mates - Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw, for example - had, saying he wouldn't have "learned some things" if that had been the case.

"There have been ups and downs," Abhishek said at the end of the Asia Cup, where he was the Player of the Tournament. "Some players get in easily. Some come in after some difficulty. But I feel this [domestic grind] was necessary. If I had made it quicker as a [national team] player, I wouldn't have learned some things."

While Shaw was fast-tracked to the national team, making his Test debut in 2018 itself, Gill broke through in early 2019. For Abhishek, the turning point came only after the pandemic, in 2021, by which time he had refined his game. With Yuvraj Singh's guidance, he transformed from a middle-order finisher and part-time left-arm spinner into an opener with an enhanced power-hitting game.

Abhishek ended the Asia Cup as the top run-getter - 314 in seven innings, including a run of three straight half-centuries leading into the final. Pathum Nissanka was a distant second, with 261 runs.

Abhishek's robust powerplay approach, and his takedown of Shaheen Shah Afridi in successive games against Pakistan, earned him a lot of plaudits, which he attributed to the freedom given to him by the team management. This run of form more or less guarantees him a spot as India's first-choice opener as they build towards their T20 World Cup title defence.

"Since the time I have been in the [national] team, I have not felt this is a pressure match. We prepared for every match in the same way," he said. "Surya bhai [Suryakumar Yadav] and GG [Gautam Gambhir] bhai have given me confidence. When you want to play a high-risk game, failures do come. But the way they handled me, I am able to play like this because of that."

Abhishek stressed that the template of aggressive batting he had adopted was something the entire team had bought into, and would look to carry forward.

"It is very important to get such support from the team," he said. "We have been wanting to play this brand of cricket with intent from the start. Irrespective of the opposition, we will continue playing like this.

"I've had more time to work on a few things. So I've worked a lot on those things. I feel this is the start for the team. There will be more miracles going forward."