‘I get nervous when he bats’: Abhishek Sharma’s mother

Abhishek Sharma

Cricket fans thronged the PCA New International Stadium for its first men’s T20I, as local stars Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh took the field. The match also saw stand inaugurations honouring Harmanpreet Kaur and Yuvraj Singh, while logistical issues left specially abled fans and spectators disappointed.

Even though the home trio of Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh failed to set the stadium abuzz during the India’s 51-run loss against South Africa in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA New International Stadium on Thursday evening, it was the first time that cricket fans in the region were watching a men’s T20 international match for the first time at the stadium.

With the stadium hosting 11 IPL matches, including two play-offs this year apart from two women’s ODIs played prior to the Women’s World Cup, fans came in large numbers to watch the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian T20I side in action.

“Every time Abhishek plays, we try to be at the stadium to cheer him and the Indian team. Since he along with team-mates Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh was playing on his home turf for the first time in an international match, the whole family, including his father Rajkumar Sharma and my daughter Komal Sharma and her husband Lovish Oberoi, came to watch the match to support them as well as the Indian team. Of course, like any mother, I get nervous when he bats. We had hoped to see a big score from him but then that’s cricket. We will be going to Dharamshala for the next match of the series and we hope to see Abhishek scoring a century there,” said Manju Sharma, mother of Abhishek Sharma.