'We opened our jerseys together' - Riyan Parag reveals combined gesture with Abhishek Sharma ahead of India debut

Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma had a sensational Indian Premier League 2024 for their respective teams. Parag dazzled batting in the middle order for Rajasthan Royals, scoring 567 runs in 13 innings at an average of 56.7. On the other hand, Abhishek overshadowed Travis Head while opening for Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 484 runs in 16 games and an overall strike rate of over 200.

Thanks to their eye-grabbing performance the duo were called up for India’s tour to Zimbabwe in July. The first game at the Harare Sports Club on July 6 was the debut international game for the young batters. Parag revealed that, ahead of their debut, both the national team aspirants opened their India jerseys together as they were part of the 2018 Under-19 World Cup team.

"We opened our jerseys together. I went to his room, he opened it first and then I did. We played the 2018 World Cup together and for the next 6 years we did not play, now we are playing. Doing it with him was pretty special," said Parag as quoted by TOI.

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Sanju has been like a captain, even when he was not captain: Parag

Abhishek played a momentous knock in the third T20I, notching up his first international hundred. Parag was less than impressive in his two outings, but the batter made amends in the fifth T20I, stitching a crucial 61-run stand with Sanju Samson. Shedding light on the partnership, the Assam batter revealed that the tricky wicket forced the duo to save wickets for the late assault.

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"Once we had wickets in the end, we could go big and it was a tricky wicket, glad we could do well. He [Sanju] has been like a captain, even when he was not captain. In the field, he has been exceptional," Parag concluded.