Every youngster dreams of working with Rahul Dravid, but by the time it was Abhishek Sharma's turn to represent India, The Wall had stepped down as India's head coach. Thankfully for Abhishek though, he and Dravid go back to the Under-19 days which India won in 2018. India won the tournament undefeated, running roughshod over teams like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia twice. However, among all three, it was India's clash against Bangladesh that was the most high-octane of the lot.

India had come off a loss to Bangladesh at the Asia Cup, which was quite a chatty affair, so when the Boys in Blue had the chance to even things up, Abhishek revealed that Dravid unveiled his aggressive side inside the dressing room to bring the maximum out of his players.

"We had lost to Bangladesh in the U-19 Asia Cup. When we faced them again in the World Cup, Rahul Dravid told us that if they abuse, you also give it back. Nobody expected him to say something like this. We are all very pumped up for that match," Abhishek said on a podcast hosted by his former teammate Manjot Kalra.

Abhishek didn't get many chances to show his batting prowess as he batted lower down the order for India. He scored 78 runs in three innings and took six wickets from six games but had done just about enough and made heads turn with his all-round abilities. Besides Dravid, another India legend who played a big part in Abhishek's career is Yuvraj Singh, the two-time World Cup winner. Abhishek's admiration for Yuvraj is well established. The former India all-rounder has worked closed with the 24-year-old, with the two going back a long way.

Abhishek and Yuvraj go back a long way

"I met Yuvi paaji for the first time during my Ranji Trophy debut. I was 16 years old then but for Yuvi paaji, it was his comeback season where he had scored over 800 runs. He has always been my idol. I was inspired by India's 2007 T20 World Cup win and that's what spurred me to play cricket and bat and bowl like Yuvi paaji. That's when his impact on my career began," Abhishek said.

"The first time I saw him, I just kept staring at him. But then luckily, I started getting chances to bat with him. So what happened was that I started sledging this opposition batter. So when it was my turn to bat, he started abusing me back. When I told Yuvi paaji that this player is abusing me, he gave him an earful."

Yuvraj constantly kept a check on Abhishek as he set the IPL 2024 on fire and was one of the first persons the youngster called when he slammed his maiden century for India earlier this month. Even after all these years, Yuvraj is like an elder brother to Abhishek, whose teachings he carries at every step.

"When Yuvi paaji realised that I resemble his batting style a little, he started monitoring me. I used to feel that if I need to pay attention to him. Over the years, when I started relating to all things he said as I played a lot of cricket myself. There were things he said to be about on the field and off the field and those are helpful to me even now. He is in touch with me. Even Yograj sir keep a track. I love practicing with him," added Abhishek.