Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif believes doubts must have crept in Abhishek Sharma’s mind amid his poor form in the ongoing T20 World Cup. In the first three matches of the group stage, Abhishek could not even trouble the scorers.
In six matches of the tournament, the left-hander has managed only 80 matches as he has looked under pressure. Kaif highlighted that Abhishek is someone who doesn’t rely on timing and focuses more on power to score his runs.
Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “So his game is not based on timing. When you rely on power every time, and on top of that you are not in form, and you are playing in a World Cup for the first time, combining all these factors, doubts have crept into his mind. You start thinking, what should I do now? I am not a timing-based player. Timing does not come naturally to me. I only know how to hit.”
Meanwhile, Abhishek was dismissed by Akeal Hosein after scoring 10 runs off 11 balls in the last game against the West Indies.
Analysing his dismissal, Kaif said, “If I talk only about the last match, Abhishek Sharma plays with a high backlift and focuses on hitting the ball hard. That is what he knows. His game is not about playing softly. Although he may be planning to improve his game slightly by focusing more on timing, the fact is that since childhood he has played with that high backlift and tried to finish every ball strongly. He attacks the ball with power.”
The Natwest Trophy final hero said Abhishek will need to figure out a way to get back into form on his own.
“As for Abhishek Sharma, I believe this is just a phase. He will make a comeback, we all know that. He has been such a fine batsman. You don’t become number one in ICC rankings without something special. There has to be real quality there. But in this phase, he will have to figure out his game on his own. Even Sanju Samson was a flop against New Zealand.
“Sometimes five, six, seven, or even eight innings don’t go your way. Even Virat Kohli has gone through poor form. We have seen that. Such a great batsman, yet even he struggled at times in the IPL, and people kept asking what has happened to him and where his runs have gone. It happens to everyone,” he added.
India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
