Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Deep Dasgupta has urged Abhishek Sharma to work on his bat swing and hands while facing back-of-length deliveries. Sharma struggled to get going against Zimbabwe, managing only 11 runs in three games at an average of 3.66.

Furthermore, Abhishek scored 131 runs in five T20Is against England at an average of 26.20 and a strike rate of 177.03. Dasgupta reckons Abhishek’s form is a concern but it still hasn’t reached a worrying stage.

Deep Dasgupta said on his YouTube Channel, “It is being slightly exaggerated but there is no denying that it is a concern. It hasn’t reached the worrying stage yet. But he has to work on one thing. He has great bat flow when he is playing shots down the ground. But this up and down bat flow becomes a problem to the back of length deliveries. Converting the vertical bat swing for horizontal shots becomes a challenge.”

“If at all he’s getting stuck, it’s off that particular length that he’s struggling with. So he has to work on his bat swing and his hands. But it’s a tricky situation as it can make you double-minded on potentially losing the brilliant down swing in trying to improve elsewhere.”

The former Bengal cricketer believes runs not coming from Abhishek’s blade is not a concern but the similar pattern of dismissal is an issue.

“Runs not coming isn’t the issue. He’s such a good player that if not now, the runs will eventually come. But the identical mode of dismissals that he is encountering is a bigger problem than just not scoring in a few matches,” said Dasgupta (via the aforementioned source).

Abhishek would look to bounce back strongly and deliver at the top of the order as Sanju Samson is also waiting in the wings for his chances.