Former India senior men’s team head coach Rahul Dravid is known for his calm demeanour. Even when he played at international level, there were only a few instances when he lost his cool or engaged in a heated exchange with the bowler. However, India’s attacking T20I opener Abhishek Sharma revealed a rare side to Dravid who asked the team to reciprocate abusive language if they get it from Bangladesh players in the quarter-final encounter of 2018 edition of Under-19 World Cup.
"We had lost to Bangladesh in the U-19 Asia Cup. When we faced them again in the World Cup, Rahul Dravid told us that if they abuse, you also give it back. Nobody expected him to say something like this. We are all very pumped up for that match," Abhishek said on former Under-19 teammate Manjot Kalra's YouTube channel.
Abhishek scored a half-century in the encounter and then bagged a couple of wickets for just 11 runs in five overs he bowled. Bangladesh were bowled out for 134 in the run chase and lost the match by 131 runs.
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Abhishek’s 14 sixes in Gurugram
Abhishek talked about a recent T20 match he played in Gurugram where he smashed 14 sixes and completed his century from just 25 balls. The southpaw revealed that he did not even carry his kit bag for the match and the target made him go hard at the bowlers.
"A lot of people had gathered there once they got to know that we were playing. It was a weekend, so there was a big crowd. They had given us a target of 260. I told my friend that people have gathered, and it doesn't matter if we win or not, but they should get entertainment. I did not open in that match because I hadn't even carried my kit bag. So, I called for my kit bag and then went to bat at No. 3 or No. 4," the 23-year-old said.
Abhishek made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe earlier this month. He scored a century in just his second T20I appearance but wasn’t picked in India’s T20I squad for Sri Lanka tour.
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