There was lot of expectation riding on Abhishek Sharma ahead of the T20 World Cup but the No. 1 batter in T20Is is yet to score a single run in the tournament. On Wednesday, the left-handed batter registered his third successive duck when he was bowled by Netherlands offspinner Aryan Dutt in a group match of the T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad.
He started the World Cup campaign with a duck against USA and missed the game against Namibia because of a stomach infection. Abhishek returned for the big clash against Pakistan where he fell to Salman Agha. Before the T20 World Cup, he had got two ducks in the home T20I series against New Zealand – making it five ducks in his last seven innings.
With India playing South Africa on Sunday in the Super Eights, Abhishek has to get back to scoring runs real quick. Sunil Gavaskar and Nasser Hussain have suggestions for the young batter to turn things around ahead of the big match.
“Maybe the expectations might be weighing just a little too heavily on him. He is a lovely guy. If he had got a flying start in the first game, things might have been different. But now, you can sense that the expectations of being the big guy, the six-hitter, the No. 1 batter in the team, might be weighing heavily on him,” Sunil Gavaskar was quoted saying on Star Sports.
The batting legend also said: “I think with the range of shots he has, he has to give himself a little more time in the middle. Not be looking to open his innings with a boundary or a six. If he gets it, then fine – but looking to play across the line for the big shot, no. Even if there are four dot balls, it does not matter because in the next four to eight balls he can make up for that.”
Gavaskar feels that the way Abhishek is getting out has become predictable and he needs to play smart cricket.
“He has to play smart cricket. He has to get the circulation in his legs. He has to get off the mark. If you are playing for India, you have to get off the mark and everything will fall in place. The way he is getting out is very predictable. The mindset is such that, ‘I am being seen as somebody who hits at a 200 strike-rate, I have to live up to that.’ You don’t have to. It’s just natural. When you take a couple of singles, you get a sense of the pitch. He will get a big score once he gets set,” Gavaskar said.
On the other hand, the former England skipper Hussain thinks what Abhishek is going through currently is a mindset problem.
“I think three ducks must make it mental. It is not like you are getting 10, 15, 20, and then you are like, ‘I am okay’. Three ducks is suddenly, I mean, it such a drop-off from where he has been. He is such a consisten hitter of the ball,” Hussain told ICC after India’s win over Netherlands.
Hussain wants Abhishek to watch videos of his great knocks and also urged the team management to extend support.
“You just need someone to have a little nudge on him, or even go to his room in the next couple of days, and put in the videos. I don’t know if they have videos, I am talking like an old man now. Get your analyst to send you all your great knocks, which there are plenty, and just sit there for two days and remind yourself what a great batter you are, and what a great striker of the ball you are, just to get your mind into a good space,” Hussain said.
