India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has brushed aside concerns regarding Abhishek Sharma’s form in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Kotak said they don’t over-analyse and Abhishek has his plans sorted ahead of the match against the Netherlands.
Abhishek bagged a golden duck in the team’s opening match against the USA. The left-hander then missed the next game against Namibia in Delhi due to stomach infection but he was once again dismissed without troubling the scorers in the last match against arch-rivals Pakistan.
“The one thing we definitely don’t unnecessarily do is over-analyse,” Kotak said when asked of Abhishek’s patterns of dismissals in the pre-match conference. “Sometimes you [as batters] start making more assumptions than the opposition do. He has his plans sorted, he follows the way he wants to, and obviously we discuss the opposition, their bowling, their strengths, what they’ve been doing – all that is normal for everyone, not just Abhishek.”
Abhishek is the number one batter in the ICC T20I rankings and had recently scored 182 runs in five matches against New Zealand at a strike rate of almost 250.
“Before he fell ill, he made runs. In the T20 format also, sometimes a 10-ball 30 is as important,” Kotak said. “It’s not like he hasn’t scored runs. T20 format is high-risk; someone will get out [playing attacking cricket]. If we stress so much on it [the occasional failures], players will be under pressure. He is in good form, he has got clear plans, has a clear mindset and that’s what matters to us.”
Kotak said playing according to the match situation while backing the aggressive approach is important for the players.
He concluded, “I think playing aggressive cricket is important. But I don’t think plans change based on whether a player has failed or not,” Kotak said. “If anything, plans will change according to situations. No matter whether somebody has scored runs for two innings or somebody hasn’t, it’s important to adapt to what the team needs.
India will take on the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Wednesday.
