Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has urged Abhishek Sharma to not pick up the bat for one day before the final clash against New Zealand. Srikkanth wants the left-hander to take a day off, which would help him mentally.

The left-hander has managed only 89 runs in seven matches of the tournament as he has failed to deliver the goods for the hosts. Sharma is the number one T20I batter in the rankings but he hasn’t been able to live up to the huge expectations.

The southpaw was once again dismissed after scoring only nine runs by an off-spinner, Will Jacks, as he was caught at mid-wicket. Srikkanth said Abhishek looks confused in the middle.

Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “I feel for him, he’s totally confused. Don’t think too much. I would suggest not to pick up a bat tomorrow. Go bat in the nets only the day after tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy had another tough night as he returned with expensive figures of 1-64 in his quota of four overs. Srikkanth praised England’s batter Jacob Bethell for taking the attack against the mystery spinner. 

Bethell scored a blistering knock of 105 runs off just 48 balls but his efforts went in vain as India registered a seven-run win. This was left-hander’s maiden T20I century.

“The way Bethell handled Varun Chakaravarthy was unbelievable. Varun was shell-shocked. He’s bowling faster once teams start hitting him. He’s losing rhythm and bowling fast,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).

India will take on New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Sunday.