Abhishek Sharma Reveals Yuvraj Singh Text That Led To Record-Breaking T20I Hundred

Abhishek Sharma celebrating his T20I century against Afghanistan.© BCCI

After playing a record-breaking innings against Afghanistan in the third T20I, Abhishek Sharma revealed an interaction he had with Yuvraj Singh, the former India all-rounder and his mentor. The Indian opener shone with a terrific 108 off 34 balls, with the help of nine fours and 11 sixes, as India outplayed their opponents by a massive margin of 127 runs and completed a 3-0 clean sweep. Abhishek started the series with an 82-run knock and then scored 39. At the end of the second game, he received some suggestions from Yuvraj, and the opener followed them to yield better results in the final contest.

"And in the last match, I only got a text from him that I should not be forcing all the balls. Specifically, in these conditions, if I just take one or two singles in between, it isn't, you know, in my slot," Abhishek told the host broadcaster.

"But obviously, sir always wants me to play long, and I always have it in my mind that if I give the team such a start, obviously, when we are on the winning side, that is always in my mind," he added.

Opener Abhishek hit a record T20I century off 30 balls to set up a crushing win for India on Thursday.

Left-handed Abhishek's ton was the fastest in a T20 international between full Test-playing nations as he guided India to 221/7 at New Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Afghanistan, who were the official hosts for the series, checked the opposition surge after Abhishek departed for 108 off 34 balls, and India lost their way from 142/1 in 10 overs. However, the Afghan batters once again disappointed and were bowled out for 94 in 14.1 overs.

Afghanistan had posted 156/8 and 159/8 while batting first in the first two matches.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel struck twice in his first over to send back Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 15 and Sediqullah Atal for one, and Afghanistan could never recover from the losses.

Seam bowler Nitish Kumar Reddy also took two wickets in one over to return figures of 3/25.

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi wrapped up the Afghanistan innings with his third strike of the match.

Abhishek stood out with his third T20I century as he surpassed Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza's ton off 33 balls against Gambia in 2024 and Finn Allen's effort from the same number of deliveries for New Zealand against South Africa earlier this year.

The only two faster T20I hundreds came in matches between lower-tier Associate members of the ICC.

Sahil Chauhan of Estonia holds the overall record with a 27-ball century against Cyprus in 2024, while Muhammad Fahad needed just 29 balls for his ton for Turkey against Bulgaria in 2025.

(With AFP Inputs)

Featured Video Of The Day

Spain's Royal Family Welcomes World Cup Champions To Zarzuela Palace