India opener Abhishek Sharma has faced his third consecutive duck in the ongoing T20 World Cup during India’s last group match against the Netherlands. He also holds the record for the most ducks for India in the T20 World Cups as well. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar believes Abhishek needs to spend time in the middle to get back into form.
“Abhishek Sharma is a lovely guy, but expectations seem to be weighing on him. If he had started well against the USA, it would have been different. Now, the pressure of being the big six-hitter and top batter is showing. With his shot range, he needs to spend time in the middle. He cannot try to hit a boundary or six on the first ball of his innings. If the big shots come, fine. But he shouldn’t force himself to play the big shots across the line,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
However, Sharma had scored 1297 runs in 38 T20Is before the T20 World Cup, and began his maiden T20 World Cup with a golden duck against the USA in India’s opening match at Wankhede Stadium as well.
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“Take a single and get off the mark. Even four dot balls don’t matter. He can make up for them later. He needs to play smart. Spend an over or two settling in, then play his natural game. First, just get off the mark. Every batter wants that first run. Once he gets it, everything will fall into place,” Gavaskar added.
Meanwhile, Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had also opined on Abhishek Sharma’s form in the T20 World Cup, and he also believes that the star batter will come strong in the Super 8 stage in the T20 World Cup.
“He batted really well last night in the nets, he spent 90 minutes batting. You also have to give him a bit of space. He came into the group phase not feeling too well, he spent a few days in the hospital and missed the game [against Namibia]. It’s been a very disappointing tournament for him so far. But I saw some really good signs with his ball striking last night. So no worries about him, he’ll be fine when the second phase comes.” Ryan ten Doeschate had said.
