India must maintain winning hunger, says Abhishek Sharma

India opener Abhishek Sharma said the challenge after recent major tournament success was to make winning a habit. He stressed maintaining the team’s processes, collective hunger and desire to perform for each other ahead of the West Indies series

New Delhi: Fresh from being part of India’s Asian Games gold-medal-winning campaign, Abhishek Sharma is looking beyond the celebrations, saying the challenge for the young Indian side is to turn its recent success into a sustained winning habit as it begins the new home season against the West Indies.

The opener said repeating success would require the team to preserve the same processes and collective hunger that helped it win the World Cup.

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“I feel, in cricket especially, when I came, I was 24, now I am 26, as a young cricketer, you tell yourself that there’s still a lot to achieve, it’s just a start. Doing it once, I feel, is still easy, but making that thing a habit and doing it again and again, keeping the process the same, it’s not easy as a player. But if the atmosphere in the team is such that everyone wants to perform for each other, wants to make India win, wants to dominate, then I feel it becomes a habit and it definitely helps,” Abhishek told JioStar.

For Abhishek, the emphasis is therefore less on the achievement already secured and more on building an environment in which winning can become a recurring outcome. The 26-year-old believes a collective desire to succeed can help India maintain its intensity from one tournament to another.

That approach also shapes the way he interacts with the next generation inside the dressing room, including 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has emerged as his young opening partner.

Abhishek said the teenage batter has already gained enough exposure to understand the demands of professional cricket, while the senior members of the squad are making a conscious effort to ensure he feels at home.

“He is a very smart guy. He is not like how we used to behave at 15 or anyone does because he has already been in that cricket setup for 2-3 years. So he knows what, where, and how much to practice. I feel gradually these are things he will learn more with experience. And what we discuss in the team with each other, all teammates, is how we can make him more comfortable.

“Because we all know what he has achieved and that he belongs here. So I also feel like it’s my duty as well, to make him feel that all of us, his elder brothers, are here for him. You just have to enjoy and just give your best and win the games whenever you get the chance,” he added.

The West Indies series provides India with its first opportunity to build on its World Cup success in the new home season.