'Yuvi paji gave him a look and player instantly apologised', recalls Abhishek Sharma

'Yuvi paji gave him a look and player instantly apologised', recalls Abhishek Sharma New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) India batter Abhishek Sharma shared an incident that underscored the profound influence of former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has had on his career. The 23-year-old recounted how Yuvraj came to his rescue during a Ranji Trophy match for Punjab, saving him from a sledging by an opponent. Abhishek has long idolised former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and in a recent interview on the YouTube channel Second Innings with Manjot Kalra, Abhishek revealed the particular incident. He revealed that Punjab had decided to target a specific player from the opposition team. Following the plan, Abhishek sledged the player while bowling. Later, when Abhishek went out to bat, the player retaliated by sledging and abusing him. The situation took a turn when Yuvraj Singh, who was at the other end of the pitch, noticed Abhishek’s discomfort. "Yuvi paji was at the other end, he saw that something was bothering me. He asked me about it, and I told him that this guy was abusing me. Yuvi paji just gave him a look and the player instantly apologised," Abhishek recalled. Abhishek first met Yuvraj when he made his Ranji Trophy debut at 16. He was star-struck seeing Yuvraj, who was making a comeback and had a phenomenal season, scoring around 800-900 runs. "He has always been my idol. In fact, I was inspired to take up the sport after the T20 World Cup win in 2007. I thought that I wanted to bat, bowl, and field like him. He has had a lot of influence on me. I just kept looking at him in the dressing room," he shared. The youngster also spoke about how he continues to seek guidance from Yuvraj whenever he faces doubts or confusion. "Even now whenever there is some confusion or doubt in my mind, I talk to Yuvraj Singh. I feel like I will get the answers from him. He keeps in touch, even Yograj sir. I practice with Yograj sir and he keeps all the updates. I really enjoy practising with Yograj sir," he said, referring to Yuvraj's father, Yograj Singh. Abhishek made his debut for India in a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe recently. Despite being dismissed for a duck in his debut outing, Abhishek bounced back with a stunning 100-run knock in the subsequent match but was dropped for India's tour of Sri Lanka. --IANS hs/bc