Abhishek Sharma receives ‘do or die’ message amid poor form in SA T20Is: ‘If this time passes, it won’t come back’
Young Abhishek Sharma has been scrutinised for his inconsistent performances in the last few T20Is for India. The left-handed batter grabbed attention early in his career with a brilliant century in his second T20I match, but has struggled to get going ever since. The swashbuckling opener registered back-to-back single-digit scores of 7 and 4 in the first two T20Is in the ongoing series against South Africa. During his short stays, the left-handed batter struggled to tackle the short balls, and the opposition found a way to get rid of him early, which is a concerning sign for him and the team.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra also criticised Abhishek for his sluggish form and asserted that he has to change his over-aggressive approach to spend more time in the middle and regain confidence.
“You are getting out in the first two overs itself, which means you are going too aggressive too soon. which may have worked in the past, but since it is not working now, give yourself a little time because if this time passes, it won’t come back,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra suggested that the time is running out for Abhishek as Sanju Samson has already cemented his place as an opener while Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will return in the T20I set-up for the next series.
“You will then have to wait for the IPL to be good once again because when the next five-match T20I series happens against England, you will not be opening. Shubman (Gill) and Yashasvi (Jaiswal) would become available then, so how you will get a place to open? Sanju (Samson) has already taken one place. So I am saying that it is now do or die, now or never,” Chopra elaborated.
The left-handed batter has been unable to show consistency with the bat, failing to get past the 20-run mark only once in the nine innings he batted. Apart from his memorable 47-ball century against Zimbabwe in Harare earlier this year, Sharma has struggled for runs with scores of 0, 10, 14, 16, 15, 4, 7 and 4 in recent outings.
‘Give yourself a little time’: A crucial advice for Abhishek Sharma
Chopra advised Abhishek to stop avoiding playing pull shots on short balls, which he hasn’t mastered yet.
“We need to talk about Abhishek Sharma once again because only two matches are left now. It’s almost confirmed that Sanju Samson has taken one spot. Although he got out in the last match, he has scored two back-to-back centuries. The short ball problem Abhishek Sharma has, I feel he should leave that shot. You get out while trying to pull,” he said.
The former cricketer turned commentator suggested that Abhishek should start looking for a single off the short deliveries at third man to get off the strike.
“You got out against Bangladesh in Hyderabad and you got out similarly even for the SunRisers Hyderabad. They are going to bowl bouncers as soon as they see you. So take a single off that ball and try to score runs towards third man. Give yourself a little time because the truth is that only once besides that century (against Zimbabwe), you have batted till the third or fourth over,” Chopra added.