Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma have been the best of friends both on and off the field. Not only the duo grew up together playing cricket in Punjab, Gill and Sharma also open the batting for the Indian national men's team.
Not to forget, the pair is mentored by none other than legendary two-time World Cup-winning former cricketer Yuvraj Singh.
While Gill was left out of India's triumphant T20 World Cup 2026 squad, Abhishek maiden ICC tournament had a nightmarish start, with three consecutive ducks - against United States of American, Pakistan and Netherlands, something that was unexpected from the world no.1 batter.
During the recent BCCI Awards, Gill was asked if he had any conversation with Abhishek after his three ducks. The Indian Test and ODI skipper decided to keep mum, stating, "Who would give advice to the world's no.1 T20I batter?". But the left-hander spilled the beans, when Abhishek stated that he himself reached out to Gill after three ducks.
"I was the one who messaged him after three ducks and told him to give me his bat, otherwise some other unwanted record would have been made," stated Abhishek, as reported by HT. Rrevealing more to the conversation, Abhishek also shared Gill's reply. "Usne bola tha, tu kar lega (He told me, you'll manage it)." Although Gill's reply came in just three words, but it was enough to instill the lost belief for someone of Abhishek's calibre.
Gill short advice did wonders for Abhishek when India needed him the most. Following three scores of zero, Abhishek registered scores of 15, 55, 10 and 9 in the next four games. His high point in the T20 World Cup 2026 came in the summit clash with a 21-ball 52 against New Zealand, thus laying the platform for India's total of 255/5 in 20 overs.
What's next for Shubman Gill & Abhishek Sharma?
With the T20 World Cup 2026 done and dusted, both Gill and Abhishek will face each other in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts on March 28. The IPL 2026 serves Gujarat Titans skipper Gill as a perfect platform for a T20I comeback, while Abhishek would like to take the opportunity to carry on the momentum for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Abhishek has been named the vice-captain for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026. The development came in after Ishan Kishan was named the skipper of the side following the unavailability of injured Pat Cummins. The 2016 champions named Kishan the skipper until Cummins joins the side upon regaining full fitness.