Cricket
Indian opener Abhishek Sharma had a horrific start to the T20 WC. He had registered 3 ducks in his first 3 games of the tournament. This felt like a nightmare to him, and he wanted to overcome the horrific nightmare quickly.
After this bizarre start, he started to doubt his performance, putting huge pressure on himself. He also kept thinking about whether he would perform well in the upcoming matches or not.
“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.
Despite the poor performances, the team and the captain, as well, backed him and supported him during the tough phase. He eventually went on to play the most crucial innings in the final and give the team a brilliant start, helping India win its third title.
“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."