New Delhi [India], September 3 : Shubham Sharma, a low-profile red-ball star in India's domestic circuit, opened up about how former batting stalwart Rahul Dravid influenced his career by offering him valuable lessons that continue to help him even now.
It has been nearly 12 years since Shubham made his first-class debut for Madhya Pradesh and two years since he was handed the captaincy mantle. In a world where T20 cricket continues to grow in prominence, Shubham has focused on the red-ball format. He recently hammered 122 and helped Central Zone reach the semi-finals of the ongoing Duleep Trophy.
Since the 2021-22 domestic season, Shubham, who has stayed far from the limelight, has had the most runs (2,849) by any batter that have played at least 40 innings across all top-flight first-class domestic competitions in India. The 32-year-old's nine centuries are the joint-second-highest in this period at 52.75.
Shubham revealed that he learned to prepare for big matches from the 'Wall' by absorbing lessons from Dravid at the National Cricket Academy (NCA, now Centre of Excellence) in Bengaluru.
"Rahul sir took one of our Under-16 sessions at the NCA. At the time, I asked him a lot of questions about mindset, and he told me things that continue to help me today. Back then, I was very young. At that age, you are generally scared of a lot of things about the game," Shubham told ESPNcricinfo.
"So I shared that with Rahul sir. But given his experience, he explained to me that these are all part and parcel of failure. He taught me how to prepare for games, including the mental side of it," he added.
Shubham has faced many challenges from the bowlers, but there is one player who has troubled him the most: India's seasoned Mohammed Shami. Shubham has squared off against Shami in one first-class match and one List A contest.
"Despite the difficulty, I liked facing Shami bhai a lot. He bowled a five-over spell in the second innings when we were playing Bengal in the Ranji Trophy last season, and didn't even let me change strike for that long. It was a learning for me," he said.
"In the one-day game, we were 2 for 2 [chasing 270]. I got out on 99, but I liked facing Shami bhai. His backspin is so good, and he swings the ball late. So your confidence increases when you face a world-class bowler like him. Then you feel that you can play against anyone," he added.