In April, cricketer Abhishek Sharma was at a photoshoot, when one of the stylists asked to take a picture with him. He obliged. “She wrapped her hands in mine. And that picture went viral,” he recalls. “It was all over social media that I have a new girlfriend.”

At 23, Sharma isn’t used to viral photos and overactive rumour mills. He’s been playing cricket since he was a kid, but only shot to national fame during this year’s IPL season, when he hit the fastest IPL 50 for Sunrisers Hyderabad, making 63 off 23 balls, and becoming the second-highest run-scorer in the team’s history. He’s on the map. He’s in the spotlight. He’s hoping to break into the India cricket team. Fame? It was not part of the syllabus until now.

Sharma’s cricket story started early. His father, Raj Kumar Sharma, played for Punjab. By the time Abhishek Sharma was born, his father had already set up a cricket academy in Amritsar. Naturally, he was young Sharma’s first coach. “I started going with him to the academy when I was probably around five or six,” Sharma recalls. “Everything I saw at home was about cricket – his trophies, him playing. Everything revolved around cricket.”

He made it to the team at an under-12 tournament. “That’s when I realised I could bat and bowl,” he says. “At nine, I scored my first century; that’s probably when I knew I was good.”

Sharma’s first moment in the spotlight was when he hit a century in his Under-19 debut for Punjab in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. “There wasn’t a lot of media attention, because domestic age group cricket isn’t viewed much. But it was a great feeling,” he recalls. He’d already been the leading run scorer in an Under –16 tournament. “So, I was definitely high on confidence, and it helped me believe I belonged at that level.”

Sharma, an all-rounder, led India to victory in the U-19 Asia Cup in 2016 and was part of the 2018 U-19 World Cup. He signed up with the Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals, in 2018 to play in the IPL and switched to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019. He’s now in Zimbabwe as part of India’s T20I squad to play a five-match series. His best friend, Shubman Gill, is captain.

Already, he’s not like other IPL stars. Sharma loves social media and regularly posts about his family, his sport and himself for his 1.2 million Instagram followers. He’s watched fame destroy other sports careers and is figuring out ways to manage pressure and public opinion. It helps that cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Brian Lara are mentors. “They’ve helped me understand my game better, backed me when I needed the support and taught me how to deal with a lean phase,” says Sharma.

What does the first taste of fame feel like? He lays it out in 11 questions:

What is an average day like after the IPL?

Right after the IPL, we had the Punjab T20 league for the whole of May. Now, I’m flying to Zimbabwe. So, it’s been back-to-back pretty much. On off days, I try to spend time with family if I can make it to Amritsar. But training never stops. I hardly take any days off. My routine is simple because I have cricket throughout the year. Whenever I get time, I want to spend it with my dad. He’s my first coach. If I want to do anything cricket-related, he’s the person I want to go to first. And then Yuvraj Singh, of course.

The phone rings more often now, doesn’t it?

It 100% does! Even before this happened, Yuvraj Singh made sure that I was ready for all the attention. I hardly get time for my family, and I don’t want to be distracted during match season. I’m happy and grateful for all the buzz, but I need to stay focused. So, I’ve put my phone on DND, hahahaha!

How many hours a day do you practise now?

I try to do three sessions on a day off: Gym, cricket, and running. Right now, I’m playing matches all the time, but whenever I am free, I try to go back to the kind of training I used to do when there wasn’t a tournament on. Practice runs about three to four hours a day, training is about two hours, so I’m still pretty busy.

What new thing did you learn this year?

Meditation. I’m still not consistent, but it helped me immensely in dealing with pressure. As an athlete, you’re often in high-pressure situations and meditation has helped me block out the outside noise.

What have you said no to in the last week?

A few interviews! Yuvi paaji told me to be careful about who I speak to. Anything that comes up and is even a little bit controversial creates a negative atmosphere around me that we don’t want. But my parents have been very busy for the past week, giving interviews from morning to night. I’m very happy to let them do that.

You seem very self-assured. Have you always been this confident?

No, no! I’ve been trying to do this for a few months. But it’s going well.

Do you lie awake, worrying that someone might find out something embarrassing about you and publicise it?

It’s more like I make sure that I don’t do anything stupid. I always want to be myself, but I’m so careful nowadays. It’s not difficult to be careful about the way I react to people. But it is the thing that matters.

Are you in therapy?

No, but I’ve just started journaling, a bit of writing. That helps. And meditation.

Everyone’s watching everything. Do you have a stylist?

I’ve been keen on fashion, since I was 16. Back then, I couldn’t buy the things I can afford to today. Now, if I like something, I get it. I like shoes. I went sneaker shopping when I was in Delhi recently. But no. I don’t have a personal stylist. I like to style myself.

What do you do on social media the most?

I’m just watching a lot of Reels. I’ve recently turned vegetarian, so I’m getting a lot of Reels about vegetarian food. My mother always wanted me to give up meat. It was difficult, but we’ve made it this far.

What do you fear the most right now?

Fear? I consciously stopped thinking about fear eight-nine months ago. I’ve been trying to think positively because I think whatever happens, happens for a reason. But I see my family getting older... that is maybe a fear.

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