Ahmedabad: Abhishek Sharma has had a nightmare of a start to his T20 World Cup career with a hat-trick of ducks. Go further back to his scores in the previous bilateral series and his last seven T20I innings – 0,0,0,30,0,68*,0 – are akin to readings from a volatile bitcoin index.
With their Powerplay intent machine struggling, India’s quick-hitting batting strategy will truly be tested in the Super 8 phase. It’s not a selection question; the batting tornado’s skill sets are matched by none, but the team’s messaging to him, going ahead, would be crucial.
“There’s been absolutely no discussion,” bowling coach Morne Morkel told reporters on Friday. “As you know, Abhishek is a world-class player. Obviously, he would like runs. But we’re going through a very important phase of the World Cup now and I’m pretty sure he’s going to deliver. Not just for the team but viewers because he is entertaining. It’s a matter of getting started.”
The two innings in between those zeroes where Abhishek did get on the scoresheet – 30 (16b) and 68* (20b) – he managed to smack seven sixes. Even in his failures, his dismissals have come trying to play an offensive stroke.
Abhishek would perhaps not write “F*** It” on the top of his bat handle as Jos Buttler did, but he could learn something from England’s outstanding T20 batter, while searching for his first runs in the tournament. On advice from England’s team psychologist, the idea behind the expression was for it to serve as a reminder to Butler to trust his instincts and not allow negative thoughts to dominate.
“The mind is a powerful thing. Sometimes it’s not easy, you just got to tell yourself everything will be okay…try and sort of dig into the things you’ve done well, keep working hard. You need a little bit of luck along the way, but just sort of having faith, at some point you’ll be okay,” Buttler said when he went through wretched form in 2023-24.
While conventional wisdom suggests Abhishek should play out a few balls, experts conversant with the rhythms of T20 cricket want the left-hander to double down on intent.
“What happens is when you hit the first ball for six, even when you top edge it…all you need is one or two boundaries to get going and everything starts to flow,” said Zubin Bharucha, a seasoned batting coach in the IPL.
“When you try to do the opposite, which is what everybody would say – to take a few balls, that’s normal cricket. In this format, you are actually getting trapped further.”
The counter to that could be the manner in which Suryakumar Yadav recently regained form. The Indian captain said he decided to give himself a few balls to settle in, focused on hitting straight and through the off side, before trying his riskier trademark strokes behind the wicket.
Bharucha is of the opinion that form in T20 cricket is “largely meaningless”. Confidence matters, but “the emotional reset required is far easier than in the longer versions of the game”.
Understandably, after being at the receiving end, the Kiwi pacers tried to bowl wider lines to stop Abhishek from advancing in the crease in the bilateral series leading up to the World Cup. Hitting pacers through the line by cutting their length and making room being his calling card, Abhishek is best advised to anticipate better and stick to his guns.
Abhishek’s previous two dismissals came against off-spinners; not sharp deliveries turning away, but of the T20 variety, looking to deny the batter a chance to swing his bat hard. With Salman Agha and Aryan Dutt finding success, South Africa may well have Aiden Markarm bowling the early overs to Abhishek on Sunday. Markram had a bowling workout against left-handers at the Narendra Modi stadium on Friday.
“If Markram bowls, I don’t see any reason why he should not try to hit the first ball out of the park. Getting 70-80 in the Powerplay is the role of the openers,” said Bharucha.
“With batters like Abhishek, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, they are able to create time with their high backlift. When they face slower bowlers, they don’t know what to do with that time. The only option is to slog it. If you try to play a normal shot, you will get out.”
Unlike Surya, Abhishek does not have the luxury to break away from sport and recharge. Nets may give you confidence, but it’s difficult to simulate match conditions, like say getting accustomed to a change of pace.
A slump in form at the start of the tournament can set you back; therefore, Abhishek may want to treat the Super 8 phase as a fresh start. Look inward and watch his wrist where a tattoo reads, “It will happen”.
