New Delhi: Three successive ducks in the T20 World Cup have brought Abhishek Sharma back to earth after his nonchalant hitting sent him up top the batting rankings.
The opener was identified as the batter to watch out for in the global event but hasn’t even survived even an over in three of India‘s four matches he has featured so far.
The left hander was dismissed for a golden duck on debut against USA, and then skipped the Namibia game with a stomach infection to be fit for the Pakistan game only to depart without scoring after four deliveries.
It was his fourth dismissal for nought in his last six innings and while India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak insisted that they won’t “over-analyse” Sharma’s form, it is perhaps time to have a chat with him after the Netherlands cleaned him up in three balls.
Former India kipper Sunil Gavaskar felt Sharma is under pressure and it is evident in the manner he has tried to attempt big hits unsuccessfully.
“Abhishek Sharma is a lovely guy, but expectations seem to be weighing on him. If he had started well against USA, it would have been different. Now, the pressure of being the big six-hitter and top batter is showing,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“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.”
‘Smart batting’
Sharma needs to smart to handle the situation he finds himself, Gavaskar said, pointing out that fancy shots don’t always come off so it would be wise to for the 25-year-old to set his eye in with singles and then launch into aerial shots.
“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 at the start. Spend an over or two settling in, then play his natural game,” the former opener said.
“First, just get off the mark. Every batter wants that first run. Once he gets it, everything will fall into place.”