India opener Abhishek Sharma said he has team management’s permission to bat with unbridled aggression but also knows he must be consistent to retain his place in the Twenty20 squad.
The Punjab batter belted eight sixes and five fours in a dazzling display of power-hitting to secure India’s seven-wicket victory in the opening T20 International against England in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Abhishek smashed a 46-ball hundred against Zimbabwe in his second T20 International in July last year in what was his only 20-plus score in his first nine innings in the format.
However, the 24-year-old will breathe easier after scores of 50, 36 and 79 in his last three knocks.
“In India, there will always be a lot of competition in our senior team,” the left-hander told reporters as he thanked captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir for backing the youngsters in the side.
“As a batsman, it can play on your mind if you don’t score runs in three, four, five innings …
“When we did not do well, even then they tell us ‘we know you’re going to win the game for us, just go and express yourself’. “When the captain or the coach says this, you get confidence and back yourself.”
The opener’s preparations includes net sessions against bowlers with actions similar to those of the bowlers he would be facing in the match.
Mentored by former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, coached by West Indies great Brian Lara at Sunrisers Hyderabad, and now playing under Gambhir, Abhishek considers himself lucky to be guided by the left-handed stalwarts.
“They just want me to showcase my talent in the way I play and to back myself,” he added.
India and England meet in the second T20 International of the five-match series in Chennai on Saturday.
