Abhishek Sharma has got our of ducks in all the three T20 World Cup matches played so far
Teams have been aggressively exploiting his weakness against off-spinners in the ongoing World Cup
Sunil Gavaskar has advised him to spend more time in the middle to get back in form
Abhishek Sharma has been one of the most hyped Indian cricketers of recent times. The southpaw opener took the cricketing world by storm in the last year, making him a household name in India and earning him the No.1 ranking crown in the T20I format.
It looked like the World No.1 T20I batter had no chink in his armour and was expected to churn runs for fun in the T20 World Cup, but contrary to everyone's expectations, the dashing opener has been in woeful form in the group stage of the tournament.
He has played three matches in the World Cup so far and hasn't been able to open his account in either of the matches, registering three ducks.
He also had some stomach issues during the start of the competition that added to his woes, but more than that his shaken confidence and inability to counter off-spinners are what have sent shockwaves among team management and the fans.
Before the T20 World Cup, it was feast or famine for Abhishek Sharma in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, where he was either scoring big or getting out without opening his account.
In the five matches, he scored 84, 0, 68*, 0, 30. By this time, there were no such worries regarding his dismissals as he was timing the ball and was getting caught on the boundaries on good shots.
World Cup Struggles Highlight Flaw in Abhishek’s Game
Let's go match-by-match in the World Cup and understand how continues string of low scores exposed a major flaw in Abhishek Sharma's game:
0 (1) vs USA
Abhishek Sharma played his first ball of the World Cup and timed it to perfection but it went straight into the hands of the deep extra cover fielder.
The fans didn't dwell much into it as the ball was well timed and they had seen in the past that such dismissals are a part and parcel of an aggressive batter like Abhishek Sharma.
0 (4) Against Pakistan Vs Pakistan
The next match against Pakistan was a high-stakes match and given his explosive performance against the same opponent in the last year's Asia Cup, fans were expecting a repeat in the World Cup too.
The mind games also started from the other side with Pakistan's former left-arm quick calling Abhishek a mere slogger despite his admirable credentials.
In one of Pakistan's talk show, Mohammad Amir said, "He is a slogger, according to me. A player who doesn't even know how to defend a ball, how can I consider him a proper batter? He comes and swings his bat and he is managing to get that connection of late... if he performs [in South Africa, England, and New Zealand], I will be the first one to acknowledge that he is a proper batter."
In the match against Pakistan, Abhishek Sharma also got out on a duck to part-time off-spinner Salman Ali Agha. This was his fourth duck in eight matches and this time around, the chat around his failures picked up traction. It also raised questions regarding his ability to counter off-spin on two-paced or spin-friendly tracks, where timing the ball from the get go could be a problem.
0 (3) Vs Netherlands
Abhishek Sharma encountered yet another duck against the Netherlands, making three consecutive zeroes in three games and the fifth one in nine matches.
More than that was his mode of dismissal that irked fans and commentators. He got out of an off-spinner in the very first over. During his short stay, it looked like he had no answer to what was coming at him and in the end threw his wickets while attempting a mindless slog.
He also looked underconfident during his brief stay on the crease and left many unanswered questions regarding his batting limitations against off-spin bowling.
No wonder Abhishek Sharma is a great talent, and he scored a plethora of runs in the recent past to give him the long rope he deserves, but what remains to be seen is whether the problem against off-spin is just a momentary issue or a major flaw in his batting.
Seeing his struggles, Indian legend has put out a word of advice in the public for the dashing opener. Gavaskar recommended that he spend more time in the middle and look for a first run in normal fashion rather than going for an aggressive shot straight away.
"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," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
"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.
"First, just get off the mark. Every batter wants that first run. Once he gets it, everything will fall into place," he said.
