Abhishek Sharma’s form was one of the most discussed topic during the T20 World Cup 2026, where the opener had a horrid time at the crease. He failed to live up to the expectations as the tournament began and registered three successive ducks, with former players and experts gunning for his head.
However, the team managed showed faith and played him in the finals against New Zealand where he scored a 18-ball fifty, helping India put up a big total on the board. Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin called him a “rascal”, who makes it count on big occasions.
“I’m a huge fan of Abhishek, and there was a lot of talk about his position throughout the tournament. Got a few ducks in a row in the pool games, and all of a sudden, you think he is under pressure, but there are the guys you want in the big moments, because they are rascals and they walk into the fire. That is what Abhishek does, he puts pressure on the opposition, and the way that he went out in that final set up the game,” Haddin said on the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast.
Haddin had picked New Zealand as favourites to win the 2026 T20 World Cup looking at how Finn Allen and Tim Seifert were batting.
“New Zealand have done a good job again to get to a final. I thought New Zealand were really red hot for the final. The way Finn Allen and Tim Seifert were batting. I thought they were in one of those tournament modes where everything is going their way. But the last hurdle (they failed to cross). The classier team won, didn’t it?” he added.
Abhishek scored 141 runs in the competition which included two half-centuries. Despite poor form he managed to turn it around when it mattered the most and hung on to his No. 1 position in the ICC T20I batting rankings.
