Indian opening batters Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill haven’t played a lot together in the national set-up, but their partnership off the field goes a long way since their age-group cricket days. Both the batters were part of the U-19 squad that won the 2018 World Cup, and the Punjab duo stood out as key performers for the Men in Blue in that tournament.
While Gill got recognition early for being the Player of the Tournament, Sharma had to work hard to get recognition. Just a year later, Gill made his India debut in 2019, while it took five more years for Abhishek Sharma to break through the international arena. In the last year or so, Abhishek has come to his own and set the stage on fire in T20 cricket.
Recalling the start of their friendship in a recent conversation, Gill claimed that their relationship started in the Under-16 days. He claimed that Sharma was batting with his bat and was on 80 or 90. The 25-year-old claimed that he did not want his bat to be broken and hence asked Abhishek to return, which led to their fight.
“It actually started back in our U-16 days. Abhishek was batting on 80 or 90 using my match bat, and I didn’t want it to break, so I asked him to return it. We ended up having a bit of a fight over that!” he told JioStar.
While it was a casual fight that did not last long, the bond between the duo has only grown, and it is evident with the camaraderie that they share, even when playing for opposite teams in the IPL. The Gujarat Titans skipper confirmed that the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener often uses his bat and scores a ton of runs. The Southpaw has established himself in the Men in Blue limited overs’ set-up with some thunderous performances in the domestic circuit.
Speaking of IPL 2025, both Gill and his side GT have been in terrific form, with the batter also holding the Orange Cap. Meanwhile, SRH have already been knocked out of the tournament, and one of the key reasons behind this was Abhishek not being able to replicate his blitz from the 2024 season. However, the left-handed opener has still been the best batter for the side, and scored a century as well.
Abhishek and Gill are expected to open the innings together when India takes on Bangladesh for a multi-format series in August.
