India are all set to take on England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. India will be going into this game in high spirits having won the virtual quarter-final against West Indies.
However, India will be sweating over the form of Abhishek Sharma, who was considered India’s most in-form player coming into the tournament. He has scored just 80 runs in 6 innings, which includes only one half-century. In the last match too, he scored just 10 runs from 10 balls. Amidst his poor form, former India head coach Ravi Shastri ha advised that Abhishek can be dropped in the semi-final, but only on one condition.
Speaking on The ICC Review, Ravi Shastri said that Abhishek Sharma should only be dropped if his mindset has taken a beating mentally from the repeated failures in the tournament.In that case he can be dropped and Rinku Singh can slot into the middle order, with Ishan Kishan opening the batting with Sanju Samson.
“Unless the team management realises that, mentally he’s not there. If mentally, his mindset has taken a beating, it is for them to judge from the outside, in conversations with him, just seeing the way he is batting in the nets,” Shastri said.
“If that is the case, then and only then will I think of putting Ishan Kishan up the order and then probably Rinku Singh bringing him, at the bottom,” he added.
‘Would Still Persist With Abhishek’
However, Ravi Shastri argued that he would still play Abhishek Sharma, given the terrific series he had in 2025 against them, where he slammed 279 runs in 5 games.
“That could be the only change, but I would still persist with him because last time India played England, he had a terrific series against them,” the former India all-rounder said.
“I would not take that away at the Wankhede,” Shastri said. “He has done well in the past. He’s got some big hundreds there and very quick hundreds. I will persist with him because there is enough firepower in that batting,” he added.