T20 World Cup: ‘If he had started well against the USA, it would have been…’ Gavaskar on Abhishek Sharma’s awful form

“Abhishek Sharma is a lovely guy, but expectations seem to be weighing on him. If he had started well against the USA, it would have been different. Now, the pressure of being the big six-hitter and top batter is showing. 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.

Sharma, who had scored 1297 runs in 38 T20Is prior to the T20 World Cup, began his maiden T20 World Cup with a golden duck against USA in India’s opening match at Wankhede Stadium. His dismissal had come while trying to play a lofted shot off pacer Ali Khan. While Sharma missed the match against Namibia due to illness, the high octane clash against arch rivals Pakistan saw Sharma mistiming a pull shot off the bowling of Pakistan captain Salman Agha in the first over and without troubling the scores during his four-ball stay at the crease. The 25 year-old again fell in the first over again during India’s last group state match against Netherlands at Ahmedabad as he missed a pull against off-spinner Aryan Dutt off the third ball of the innings. Gavaskar was of the view that Sharma should take a single to get off the mark rather than trying to hit a six and has the ability to bat at a higher strike rate later in the innings. “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. 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,” Gavaskar added.

Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had also spoken about Sharma’s form in the T20 World Cup and believes that the 25-year-old batsman will come strong in the Super 8 stage in the T20 World Cup. “He batted really well last night in the nets, he spent 90 minutes batting. You also have to give him a bit of space. He came into the group phase not feeling too well, he spent a few days in the hospital and missed the game [against Namibia]. It’s been a very disappointing tournament for him so far. But I saw some really good signs with his ball striking last night. So no worries about him, he’ll be fine when the second phase comes.” Ryan ten Doeschate had said after India’s 17-run win over Namibia on Wednesday.