The captain and coach had faith in me even when I was doubting myself: Abhishek

Ahmedabad, Mar 8 (PTI) Swashbuckling opener Abhishek Sharma on Sunday thanked the Indian team management for backing him to the hilt even after he had started to doubt his ability during his lean run in the T20 World Cup.

Abhishek fired in the big final against New Zealand as he smashed a 21-ball 52 to power India's blistering start in the company of Sanju Samson after being asked to bat first. India, who posted 255/5, won by 96 runs to become the first team to successfully defend a T20 World Cup title.

"The one thing was very clear, I wanted to share before as well, but today is the best day. The captain and coach had faith in me. Even I was doubting myself. I had never experienced this before, it was a tough tournament," Abhishek said after the match.

"I was just doing my process, trying to take it one game after another, but it wasn't easy. But I love this team because the way they backed me. It wasn't easy for me because going through the whole year I was doing well for the team, but in the big tournament I wasn't able to.

"But the faith the team and management showed in me. I got emotional in the middle of the tournament and wanted to talk to the coach and captain and they said you'll win us the big games. The crowd has supported us a lot even through tough times," Abhishek added. PTI AH AH UNG