Abhishek Sharma T20 World Cup Setback: Leading up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, Abhishek Sharma had been the batsman to watch out for. The southpaw became notorious for explosive striking right from the get-go, but has been a shadow of himself ever since the tournament kicked-off. He registered consecutive ducks, missed a game due to health issues, and while he did register his first runs during the India vs South Africa Super 8s clash in Ahmedabad, the Proteas managed to get rid of him for just 15 runs.
Sunil Gavaskar, an Indian cricket legend, delivered his verdict on what he thinks has been going wrong with Abhishek Sharma after the match, which the Men in Blue lost by 76 runs, had concluded.
Speaking on the Star Sports post-match panel, Sunil Gavaskar said that Abhishek Sharma is struggling with match pressure affecting his fluency and shot freedom. He also praised South Africa's bowling plan to the opener:
"The fluency is not there at the moment. In the nets, you know you'll face the next ball even if you get out on the first. But in a match, it's a completely different story. That pressure can almost freeze you, restricting the free movement of the arms when aiming for a big shot."
"He got a little stuck there, and South Africa bowled very cleverly. They know he likes to make room and play through the off-side, so look at Rabada, he kept targeting the pads relentlessly, even after conceding a six," Gavaskar added.
Abhishek Sharma has attracted criticism and scrutiny after repeated failures with the bat in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
He scored back-to-back ducks against USA, Pakistan, and Netherlands in the group stage, missing the match against Namibia.
While Ishan Kishan had fulfilled the role of a quick-firing opener in this period, he had to walk back without scoring against South Africa, which proved to be a detrimental to the Indian innings.
While Abhishek hung around a little longer, he could only muster 15 off 12 balls.
