Abhishek Sharma is likely to be available for the game against Pakistan on Sunday, it is learnt. The opener, who missed India’s last game at the ongoing T20 World Cup against Namibia due to illness, is travelling with the team to Colombo. Given the way the pitches at Premadasa Stadium have been playing, the powerplay is going to be crucial in Sunday’s fixture. Abhishek being India’s enforcer-in-chief at the top, the defending champions would bank on his presence.
Varun Chakravarthy dropped a big enough hint on Abhishek’s availability for the Pakistan game after India’s match against Namibia on Thursday. “I think he will play the next match,” said the spinner. “As far as I have spoken to him, he looks good. He did some practice today. He said he is on the way.”
Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, had cast doubt on the left-hand batter’s participation in the big game, as he said at the toss: “Abhishek isn’t fine still, might take one or two games.”
Then, the BCCI put out an update that said: “Abhishek Sharma is still recovering from his illness and was unavailable for selection. The BCCI medical team is closely monitoring his progress.”
Abhishek played the first game against the USA despite being a bit under the weather. He perished for a golden duck, didn’t take the field and spent the night in hospital with a stomach infection. He joined the team before the Namibia game but wasn’t fit enough to play.
The 25-year-old from Punjab is the world’s No.1 T20I batsman. The match between Zimbabwe and Australia served as the latest example of how forcing the pace is getting difficult in the middle overs and at the death on slow and low Premadasa Stadium decks. The India versus Pakistan fixture is a high-profile one and work would be done to give the batsmen some respite. But the pitches at this venue will not change their nature overnight. Abhishek in top fettle can make the pitch factor redundant, if he is fit.
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