Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has advised explosive opener Abhishek Sharma to be a little bit more patient at the start of his innings during the remainder of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Abhishek endured his second straight failure after being dismissed for a golden duck in India’s commanding 61-run win over Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday. The world’s No.1 ranked T20I batter is yet to open his account in the tournament, though his struggles have not affected India’s unbeaten run so far.
Shastri, however, believes India will need Abhishek firing as the tournament progresses into the knockout stages, where the pressure intensifies and the opposition stiffens. He suggested that a more measured approach early in the innings would allow the left-hander to capitalise once he is set.
“I think he’s due, but he just has to give himself a little bit of time,” Shastri said after India’s triumph over Pakistan.
“Such things happen and you can go off the boil, but he’s just got to give himself a little more time until he gets back on track. Because for him to convert those dot balls later on into boundaries and sixes, is not difficult,” he added.
With Abhishek yet to find rhythm, Ishan Kishan has stepped up at the top of the order. The left-hander followed up his earlier exploits with a scintillating 77 off 40 balls against Pakistan, earning the Player of the Match award.
It was Kishan’s second consecutive half-century of the tournament, and Shastri believes the 27-year-old is in sublime touch. “He’s batting like a dream at the moment,” Shastri exclaimed
“Striking on that track (Colombo pitch) at close to 200 is unreal. Every batter didn’t find it easy, whether it was Indian or Pakistani, because the ball was stopping and for him to strike the way he did, and what I liked was how quickly he assessed the conditions,” he added.