Indian opener Abhishek Sharma has revealed that his father was really upset when he went through a rough patch in the T20 World Cup 2026. Sharma was India’s best T20I batter before the tournament but could not deliver in the marquee event.

The left-hander was dismissed for three consecutive ducks in the group stages and was found wanting against the off-spinners. The southpaw scored a fifty against Zimbabwe (55 off 30) but then once again could not deliver against the West Indies and England in the virtual quarterfinal and semifinal clashes, respectively.

However, the Indian opener finally came good in the all-important final against New Zealand, scoring 52 runs off just 21 balls to give a blistering start to the team. Sharma and Sanju Samson added 98 runs for the opening alliance, including 92 in the Powerplay overs.

Abhishek Sharma said on India Today Conclave, “If you ask him now, he would probably say he wasn’t worried or tense, but he definitely was. I could see he was upset. He even tried everything – paath and puja, things he had probably never done before.

“He had seen me go through similar phases in junior cricket for India as well, so it was not easy for him or my family to watch me go through this phase. But the way they handled it was remarkable. They [family] came for all the games and tried to take me out to different places to keep my mind off things,” the Indian opener added.

The Punjab batter said the ultimate goal is to play all three formats for the country. Sharma is yet to make his debut in ODI and Test matches.

“Obviously, the ultimate goal is to play all formats for India as much as I can. But I’ve stopped thinking too much about those things because they are not in my hands. I just want to follow the process I’ve been taught over the last two years by Yuvraj Singh… But of course, playing ODI cricket for India is also a dream if I get that opportunity.”

The youngster will next represent Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026.