Former India captain Suryakumar Yadav has backed young opening batter Abhishek Sharma amid criticism over his recent slump with the bat.
In his last 10 T20I innings, Abhishek has scored just one half-century and amassed 191 runs. In fact, the 25-year-old has failed to reach double figures in each of his last four innings. Amid criticism over his form, Abhishek shared a heartfelt post on Instagram, admitting that he had failed to live up to expectations.
“It hurts when you can’t give back what so many people believe you’re capable of. But this game always rewards those who keep showing up. Happy that the team got the win. Will be back stronger,” Abhishek wrote on Instagram.
Reacting to the post, Suryakumar, who led India to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year, dropped a heartwarming comment.
Suryakumar, who was dropped from the team after the T20 World Cup, urged Abhishek to be “himself”, saying that ups and downs are part of the game.
“You have given so many reasons to smile for 2 years in a row, boyyyy. Given glory to INDIA when it mattered the most. Matter of time. Be yourself,” wrote SKY.
Former India batter Hanuma Vihari recently suggested that Abhishek finding a spot in the team despite a run of poor form points towards an ‘unfairness’ in selection and even mentioned Sanju Samson to make his point.
“Before the World Cup, Sanju Samson did not perform in five games and lost his spot in the starting 11. He then made a comeback and became Player of the Tournament. In that same tournament, how many runs did Abhishek Sharma make?
“In the UK series, apart from one fifty, there were no scores at all. Not even 20s and 30s, no significant score. One fifty in the last eight matches. If you include the World Cup, three half-centuries in the last 18 matches,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.