‘Shubman Gill’s bat’: Abhishek Sharma reveals his secret weapon after maiden ton against Zimbabwe

Indian opener Abhishek Sharma was in sensational form in the second T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare. While the 23-year-old was out for a duck in the first match, he bounced back strongly in the second to score his maiden international century.

However, in a bizzare revelation, Abhishek revealed that he hit the ton while batting with captain Shubman Gill's bat. He also revealed that it wasn't the first he had borrowed Gill's bat either. Speaking after the match, the young batter said, "Today I played with Shubman Gill's bat. So a special thanks to the bat as well. And this happens, I think, from the under-12 days. Whenever I think like, this is a pressure game or this is, you know, a match where I should perform, I usually take his bat. Even in the IPL also, I usually ask for one bat. And today he gave me his bat. So I think it went really well."

Notably, the two players share a close bond, hailing from the state of Punjab and being mentored by former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.

Speaking about his approach to the game, Abhishek said, "My approach is always very much similar to this because if I feel it, even if it's the first ball, I'm going to go for it and I usually go for it… And when it's my day, it usually goes like this. And if it's not, I don't mind because I practice a lot on this, mindset and this game I'm having right now."

Abhishek's 46-ball knock was the third fastest T20 hundred by an Indian, with skipper Rohit Sharma retaining his 2017 record. During the innings, the young batsman hit 8 sixes and 7 boundaries. Abhishek was also the highest six-hitter in the IPL 2024 season where he hit 42 sixes while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad.