Arjit Kumar - Monday, Sep 22, 2025In Summary: Sehwag said he also learned this lesson from Sunil Gavaskar, who explained to him that getting out at 70 or 80 at the end of a career can lead to regrets about not scoring a century.
In Detail: In the high-voltage Super Four match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, Abhishek Sharma batted explosively, scoring 74 runs off just 39 balls. His innings included six fours and five sixes. Thanks to this innings, India won the match by six wickets with seven balls to spare. After the match, former opener Virender Sehwag offered Abhishek some advice.
He advised him to strive for a century whenever he was around 70-80. Sehwag said he learned this lesson from Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar explained to him that getting out at 70-80 at the end of his career made him regret not scoring a century. Sehwag said that great players are those who take their scores to 100.
The Indian legend told Abhishek that when he's in good form, he should always strive to remain not out in matches. Sehwag said, "Many congratulations. I would say that whenever you reach 70, never miss the opportunity to convert it into a century. This is what Sunil Gavaskar taught me. When you retire, you regret those innings where you got out on 70 or 80. I wish I had converted them into centuries, I would have had more centuries in my career. Such opportunities don't come often. When you're having a good day and you're in form, strive to return to the pavilion unbeaten. That's the best thing. Always keep that in mind.
Regarding Sehwag's advice, Abhishek Sharma said that this is absolutely correct. When a batsman is in good form, he should strive to remain unbeaten. Abhishek admitted that such opportunities don't come often, and when they do, it's important to convert them into centuries. Anchor Gaurav Kapoor joked that if Sehwag hadn't given this advice, Yuvraj Singh's call would have been imminent. Yuvraj is Abhishek's mentor. Abhishek laughed and said, "He would definitely tell me the same thing. He would say, 'Brother, I've already hit a six, so give the other one a chance to hit sixes... I'm working on that too.'" Everyone laughed at this.
Abhishek already has two centuries in T20 International cricket, but now he is expected to further strengthen Team India by converting scores of 70-80 into centuries. India's next Super 4 match is against Bangladesh on September 24, where Abhishek will be expected to play another big innings.
