“He shouldn’t force himself to play big shots across the line. Take a single and get off the mark. Even four dot balls don’t matter,” the former India captain said.
File Photo: IANS
Abhishek Sharma’s ultra-aggressive, see-ball-hit-ball approach has long been his calling card — the method that propelled him to the top of the T20I rankings and made him one of India’s most feared powerplay hitters. But as his T20 World Cup struggles deepen, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar believes the opener may need to momentarily shelve instinct for restraint, urging him to buy time at the crease rather than attack from the very first delivery.
“He shouldn’t force himself to play big shots across the line. Take a single and get off the mark. Even four dot balls don’t matter,” the former India captain said.
Advertisement
Against South Africa on Sunday, Abhishek responded briefly, cutting one to the fence to end his sequence of ducks in the tournament. But the larger concerns remained as he could not fully capitalise and perished after scoring 15, even as India slumped to a 76-run defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Advertisement
For a batter who was India’s standout performer in the Asia Cup, amassing 302 runs as the Men in Blue clinched a record-extending ninth title, this downturn is as surprising as it is stark. Even in the recent T20I series against New Zealand, Abhishek showed both his brilliance and volatility — 84 in Nagpur, 68 not out in Guwahati and 30 in Thiruvananthapuram were interspersed with ducks in Raipur and Visakhapatnam. The pattern has worsened at the World Cup. He has now recorded five ducks in his last nine T20I innings.
Earlier in the tournament, off-spinners exposed a technical frailty. Against the Proteas, it was pace, wide lines and clever changes of speed that tied him down. His 15, studded with three boundaries, including a six off Kagiso Rabada, hinted at rhythm but not control. Opposition teams appear to have mapped him out, forcing the young opener to evolve beyond instinctive strokeplay.
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate pointed to disrupted preparation hampering the 25-year-old’s momentum.
“I think Abhi’s preparation coming into the World Cup, with the food poisoning that he had at one stage, has obviously hampered his progress in terms of where we want him to be at this phase,” he said in the post-match presser.
“You want him to be up and running and confident in his swing and in his game plan. When you score three zeros, that is going to start weighing on you. I saw some really good signs on Friday night in the nets. I think I mentioned it in the presser then. But he looks a little bit short, and our job as the coaching staff is to pull that right. We’ve got four days to do that,” the former Dutch international added.
India do have Sanju Samson waiting in the squad, but it is unlikely that captain Suryakumar Yadav or head coach Gautam Gambhir will press the emergency button. The team’s Super Eight campaign continues against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday, followed by a clash with the West Indies at the Eden Gardens on March 1.
For India, the net run rate (NRR) has also taken a big hit because of the loss and could impact their semi-final chances. The defending champions will need convincing wins in both fixtures to avoid relying on other results for a semi-final berth, and that may hinge significantly on whether Abhishek rediscovers the form that made him indispensable just months ago.
Advertisement
