India legend Sunil Gavaskar and 2003 World Cup finalist Mohammad Kaif have called for the out-of-form Abhishek Sharma’s head ahead of the T20 World Cup final at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium later today.
Sharma went into the tournament as one of the players to watch out for, but he has been a big flop. Other than a 30-ball 55 against Zimbabwe in the Super 8s, he has been a pathetic sight on the field of play. His output so far in the 7 matches is as follows: 0, 0, 0, 15, 55, 10 and 9. He didn’t play one game in the group stages against Namibia on account of a stomach bug.
If truth be told, if Sanju Samson had not come good late into the tournament, India probably wouldn’t be in today’s final. In fact, Sharma’s lack of runs was what paved the way for Samson’s inclusion in the Playing XI.
The pattern to his dismissals is pretty much the same. He has particularly struggled against spinners, especially offspinners. Salman Agha, Aryan Dutt and Will Jacks will vouch for that. Against the West Indies, he fell to left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein.
Sharma has been slow to learn. Yes, his approach to go for leather from the get-go had worked for him coming into the tournament. But once that was not effective anymore, he should have changed his approach. Like, play with a straight bat, cut some shots from his repertoire, and take his time to settle before going berserk and aim for a 150 strike rate instead of 200. But he has done none of that.
Against the West Indies and England, one a virtual quarterfinal and another a semifinal, he particularly cut a sorry figure. His lack of runs has also affected his fielding and catching. Against the Caribbean team, he dropped two catches, and it was sheer good luck that Shai Hope’s men could not make those opportunities count in a big way.
Fed up, Gavaskar has made it clear what he wants now. “I would like to see Ishan Kishan open the batting with Sanju Samson, with Rinku Singh coming into the side. Rinku has that belief, you’ve probably seen the ‘God’s Plan’ tattoo on his body, and sometimes things just work out for players like him.”
And India can very well do that. They have already done it once. Samson wasn’t part of their idea of a Playing XI, but they brought him in against Zimbabwe at the expense of Rinku, and since then, he has been a revelation. Samson and Kishan can open, and captain Suryakumar Yadav can be No.3 with Rinku available lower down the order. So, it can be done.
But will India do it? That’s the question. They might not because Sharma has been too good in the past. In the last few months, he has been the most dangerous batsman in the format. In their heart of hearts, Gautam Gambhir and company would know Sharma can kill the contest inside the powerplay if he gets going. So that hope may get Sharma another game. Also, the fact that New Zealand boast some of the most dangerous batsmen in the format — we saw what Finn Allen and Tim Seifert did in their semifinal against South Africa — so, India may have to chase a big total, which means you would need a player like Sharma to help you take over the line. And if they are batting first, they might want to bat out the opposition. Again, Sharma can come in handy. That’s something India cannot ignore.
His reputation is likely to save him, when all is said and done.
