NEW DELHI: The finale against Pakistan turned out to be an anticlimax for Abhishek Sharma, who was dismissed for just five runs. But the opener had already been the driving force behind India’s title triumph at the Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, lighting up the tournament with his emphatic and attacking batting that repeatedly left opponents shell-shocked.Abhishek, who consistently provided India with explosive starts and shared crucial partnerships with vice-captain Shubman Gill to lay winning foundations, finished the tournament with 314 runs in seven matches at an impressive average of 44.85 and a blazing strike rate of 200.His outstanding performances earned him the Player of the Tournament award — his maiden such honour — and a brand-new car as the prize.While Abhishek was receiving the award, India’s T20I vice-captain and his childhood friend Shubman Gill started hooting and celebrating his success. In a viral video, Gill can be heard shouting: “Oye Raju da munda” — referring to Rajkumar Sharma, Abhishek’s father. Abhishek later shared the video on his Instagram stories.Watch the video here“Getting a car is always a pleasure (smiles). Getting into this team after winning the World Cup was not easy for any opener. We had a plan that we had to play our game and show our intent from the first ball. Worked really hard on that,” said Abhishek during the post-match presentation ceremony at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night.On the occasion, Abhishek credited the support he received from captain Suryakumar Yadav, the coach, and the support staff for helping him excel throughout the tournament.“If you play like this, you need special support from the coach and captain, and that is what I have been getting. If I do well and get those impact innings for the team, we should win. If you want to play like this, you will get failures – that is, the team you have to realize that if you play like this, you will win games for your team as well, and just follow the process.”The 25-year-old opener from Punjab added that he had made up his mind to attack the bowlers from the very first ball and make full use of the fielding restrictions during the Powerplay.“I had a plan (on adjusting to different surfaces), and I would utilize the Powerplay. Spinners, fast bowlers, any of the premium fast bowlers as well…I had it in my mind that I had to go from the first ball. That is going to help me give impact to my team, and that is what happened,” said Abhishek.Though Abhishek, Shubman Gill, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav fell early in the chase, Tilak Varma anchored India’s five-wicket victory with an unbeaten 69. He was well supported by Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33).Earlier, it was the Indian bowling unit — led by Kuldeep Yadav (4-30), Varun Chakravarthy (2-30), and Axar Patel (2-26) — that laid the foundation for the win, dismantling a rampaging Pakistan from 113/1 to 146 all out.
