After winning the Asia Cup, Abhishek Sharma gently makes fun of “premium” bowler Shaheen Afridi

Following India‘s victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on September 28, India opener Abhishek Sharma appeared to make a subtle jab at none other than Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi when he stated that his strategy of playing attacking Cricket from the first ball of the powerplay stays the same, regardless of whether he is facing a “premier” fast bowler. One of the main contributors to India’s ninth Asia Cup victory was Abhishek Sharma, who was their most prolific batsman in the top order.

Even though Abhishek had been spearheading India’s offensive strategy from the first position and finished the tournament as the top run scorer with 314 runs in seven games, his aggressive style from the first of each innings put supporters in a state of shock. In a subtle jab at Shaheen Afridi, Abhishek stated during the post-match presentation following his Player of the Tournament win that his strategy was to assault every bowler he faced and take no prisoners.

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“If you see that I have a plan, I’m going to use it if I get pacers or spinners in the powerplay. Because regardless of the bowler, I want to go from the first ball if I see one, even if they are fast or one of the premium fast bowlers. That will undoubtedly force me to give the squad that influence. And I want to accomplish it,” Abhishek remarked.

In the India vs. Pakistan Super 4 match, Abhishek and Shaheen got into a verbal altercation after India’s opener dismissed the Pakistani bowler and hit Shaheen for a six on the opening ball of the innings. Although there had been a lot of tension before this crucial match, it did not cross over into Sunday’s summit game.

Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for just 5 by Faheem Ashraf in the final during India’s 147-run chase, part of the initial scare India faced, which was later compounded by the early dismissals of Shubman Gill and skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The Suryakumar Yadav-led team won their ninth Asia Cup thanks to the contributions of Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, and Sanju Samson, who didn’t need their best batsman to light up the field.