ICC T20 world cup 2026 | Abhishek Sharma sheds ego, gains form

Chennai: As Abhishek Sharma was going through a lean run for the first time in his fledgling international career, it wasn’t just him who was scratching his head wondering what was going wrong all of a sudden. Various members of the support staff, his captain and some of his teammates — all of whom were witnesses to his rise as the No. 1 T20 batter in the world — were equally bemused.

Having seen him blaze a trail like seldom before over the last 20 months that often evoked astonishment from rival bowlers — remember a few New Zealanders literally forensic examining his bat as if it was a battering ram during the bilateral series just before the ongoing T20 World Cup — the management was baffled when the southpaw got out for three successive ducks and five in eight innings. 

Baffling because it was hard to say if the 25-year-old was actually out of form. Yes, he was struggling to buy a run, but it wasn’t a case of him looking uncomfortable out in the middle. He was striking the ball well but sadly was finding the fielders. Even in the ‘nets’ sessions, he was timing and belting the balls powerfully.

In the opening game against the USA, where he took the field despite suffering from a stomach illness, he literally smacked the ball from the middle of his bat but was caught at deep cover. The mistake the southpaw committed there was being unaware of the smart field placings by US skipper Monank Patel. The ego of attempting to dominate an Associate Nation from the get-go was the problem. 

He skipped the match against Namibia after being hospitalised for the same stomach bug, but against Pakistan, he departed for trying to hit Salman Agha from the onset. A bit of ego because of Agha’s pre-match needling and impatience was the issue.

The failures then started to expose other problems — technique and temperament. Oppositions, following extensive video analysis, figured the southpaw had trouble countering off-spinners who took the ball away from him. Netherlands’ Aryan Dutt exploited it by castling him. 

The Dutch debacle pushed him on the edge and, battling for survival, he went for broke against South Africa in the opening Super Eights game. He wanted to hit himself out of trouble and against an attack as good as the Proteas, it was a high-risk gamble. When luck isn’t on your side, poker can’t be your play and Abhishek learnt it the hard way. Compounding Abhishek’s problems was the fact that India’s overall batting too incurred a huge loss.

Through all this turbulence, the management continued to back him. Even when they inducted Sanju Samson back into the playing XI for the must-win game against Zimbabwe here on Thursday, it was the in-form Kishan who was pushed to No. 3. Abhishek got the vote of confidence at No. 1. 

Abhishek repaid it with a blistering 55 off 30 balls that saw the smile return on Suryakumar Yadav’s face, the skipper who said it was absolutely necessary to cover for the person who had contributed immensely to the team’s incredibly successful run on the road to the World Cup.

What was heartening to watch was the way Abhishek swallowed his ego, curbed his impatience and silenced the calls of those who questioned his temperament. Even as Samson started to pull the trigger from the onset on a batting beauty, Abhishek didn’t get sucked in. Well aware that if he flopped again the repercussions could be severe, he bided his time.

He watched intently like a sniper as Samson went on a rampage. It was quite unlike him because normally he’s the one causing all the damage to opponents. But humility was the need of the hour. He loosened up with a gorgeous lofted drive off Tinotenda Maposa in the third over. A six followed two balls later. It was pace — something he relishes — at him instead of spin, and he suddenly found his powers again. Even after that, he showed good maturity to pick the right balls for the big shots. It was a calculated assault and not blind hitting.

“It’s always great, you know, when you contribute to the team. And I was waiting for this moment for quite a long time now, so finally it’s happening. I’m really happy. I just wanted to, you know, spend some time at the pitch. A special mention to the team, the way they’ve treated me so far,” a delighted Abhishek told the broadcaster during the mid-innings break.

Rightfully backed up during his trough, a determined Abhishek has found his groove again in the nick of time. It’s exactly what India needs now.