Ahmedabad, March 8 Swashbuckling opener Abhishek Sharma thanked the Indian team management on Sunday for backing him wholeheartedly, even after he had started to doubt his abilities during his lean patch in the T20 World Cup.
Abhishek shone in the final against New Zealand, smashing a 52 off 21 balls to help India get off to a blistering start, alongside Sanju Samson, after being asked to bat first. India, who posted 255/5, won by 96 runs to become the first team to successfully defend a T20 World Cup title.
"The one thing that was very clear to me was that I wanted to share before, but today is the best day. The captain and coach had faith in me. Even I was doubting myself. I had never experienced this before, it was a tough tournament," Abhishek said after the match.
"I was just following my process, trying to take it one game at a time, but it wasn't easy. But I love this team because of the way they backed me. It wasn't easy for me because I had been doing well for the team throughout the year, but I wasn't able to perform in the big tournament.
"But the faith that the team and management showed in me was very important. I felt emotional in the middle of the tournament and wanted to talk to the coach and captain, and they told me that they would help us win the big games. The crowd also supported us a lot, even during difficult times," Abhishek added.
