In T20 cricket, reputations reign heavy and travel faster than runs. At this moment, only a few Indian cricketers occupy as much mental real estate across dressing rooms as Abhishek Sharma.
The Indian team is three matches into the World Cup and the left hander has scores of 0(1) and 0(4). A duck against the USA in Mumbai and another against Pakistan in Colombo. Unfortunately, he missed the game against Namibia in Delhi due to illness. On paper, many may think that this reads like a slump.
The Pakistan cricket team, as Mike Hesson revealed, spent three days planning his dismissal. USA, too, strategically mapped out his downfall with care. When teams start focusing on taking down one individual, it is because he is capable of detonating a game in the matter of fifteen balls.
In the pre-match press conference in Ahmedabad, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was unflustered when asked about the lean returns.
“Even before that, Abhishek made runs in matches. In T20 format, sometimes even a 10-ball 30 is equally important. So it is not like his runs didn’t come up,” Kotak said. “In T20, it is a high-risk game. One or the other player will get out. If we start stressing too much, players will feel unnecessary pressure. He is in good form. He has a clear plan and a clear mindset. That is what matters for us.”
This clarity has remained intact throughout the training sessions we have witnessed. In Ahmedabad, Abhishek’s routine remained intact, his high backlift, full swing through the line, and the clean crack of the ball meeting the middle and then ending up in the stands. It all tells you timing or technique is not the issue.
“We are not bothered”, said Kotak in the press conference and neither should you. While T20I cricket is a format that may heavily rest on form, Abhishek is far from off-colour. Even Suryakumar Yadav had explained ahead of the India-Pakistan game that in a high-risk, high-reward format, there will be times where wickets are lost early but that doesn’t mean that the management will impulsively lose faith in a player.
The paradox is striking. Abhishek hasn’t opened his account twice in his last five T20Is, yet he is among the most discussed players in the tournament. Opposition analysts are dissecting his first ten balls, bowlers are rehearsing specific lines, fielding captains are pre-setting traps. In T20 cricket, fear is a currency and Abhishek, despite two zeros, commands plenty of it.
The numbers will eventually catch up. They usually do for batters who bat with intent. Until then, his presence at the top remains one of the strongest trump cards for the Indian team. Abhishek, a batter who isn’t afraid to step out on the first delivery to hit a six, holds the capacity to turn a 10-ball burst into a match-winning knock and the opposition knows it.
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