T20 WC: Ravi Shastri advises Abhishek Sharma to take time
What's the story
Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri has come out in support of opener Abhishek Sharma, who recently recorded back-to-back ducks in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup. Despite being a highly regarded T20I batter, Abhishek is yet to open his account after two innings. He was dismissed for a four-ball duck against Pakistan, marking his second consecutive duck and a third in five T20 innings.
Advice
Give yourself some time, Shastri advises
Shastri, while speaking to sports presenter Sanjana Ganesan, stressed that such phases are part and parcel of a player's career. He advised Abhishek to be patient and give himself some time to get back on track. "I think he's due, but he just has to give himself a little bit of time," Shastri said. He added that "you can go off the boil," but with time, players usually find their rhythm again.
Confidence
Shastri on Abhishek's boundary-hitting ability
Shastri also expressed confidence in Abhishek's ability to convert dot balls into boundaries and sixes. "For him to convert those dot balls later on into boundaries and sixes is not difficult," he said. After the 2024 T20 World Cup, Abhishek has evolved into a dangerous opener who likes to step out on the first delivery he faces. His recent ducks are due to his high-risk approach.
Run
Successive ducks for Abhishek
Abhishek returned to India's Playing XI after missing the Namibia game. He was hospitalized with a stomach issue. In India's T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the USA, the Indian opener fell for a golden duck. Abhishek's last six scores in the format read 0(4), 0(1), 30(16), 0(1), 68*(20), and 0(1). Nevertheless, Abhishek still has a strike rate of 193.29 in T20Is.
Information
Abhishek enters this unwanted list
According to Cricbuzz, Abhishek became the third player to be dismissed for a duck in their first two T20 World Cup games (Full Members). He joined Ashish Nehra and Imrul Kayes on this list.