Abhishek Sharma must trust in the method that made him India’s T20 batting talisman

Abhishek Sharma in T20 World Cup. Image: Debasis Sen

What is Abhishek Sharma going through at the moment? Ahead of the T20 World Cup, he could do no wrong. Every time he danced down the track, the ball would land in the stands. Everyone was talking about him and he was considered India’s trump card going into the competition. Now, with three consecutive ducks to his name, he must be feeling the pressure. There will certainly be self-doubt and it will test him. But that’s sport. No one has ever had it easy and it will only make Abhishek a better player and, mentally, a more resilient human being.

With the World Cup, the pressure is humongous. For a young man under such public glare, even more so. But he is human and this is what sport is all about. It has tested the very best and it will continue to do so. Abhishek isn’t any different. The key for him is to understand the ground reality and be smart about it. He must deal with the pressure and not let it get to him. It is much easier said than done and that’s where Gautam Gambhir and the team management have a major role to play.

They need to cocoon him from all the outside noise and the social media clamour, not get sucked into any of it, and help him stay in the present. It will help to go back and look at some of the innings where he scored big runs, for form cannot disappear in a week. India will need to back Abhishek to the maximum at the moment, and I am confident he will deliver at the Super 8 stage.

Let me give my readers a Sachin Tendulkar example. Ahead of the 2003 World Cup, India travelled to New Zealand and Sachin had scores of 0, 1 and 1 in the three games. So much so that Anjali joked with him, saying his scores resembled Delhi’s STD code. Come the World Cup, we saw a very different Sachin. He did not let the pressure get to him, trained harder than anyone, and did exactly the same things he would always do.

That’s all Abhishek needs to do — be himself and not change anything. There will inevitably be self-doubt and he could well be wondering whether he should take a little more time and get a couple of singles. The call is entirely his to make. If that makes him comfortable, so be it. Otherwise, he should just continue in the way he has over the last year and more.

Teams now have a set strategy in place against Abhishek Sharma. They will start with an off-spinner and think they have him covered. Pakistan dismissed him through Salman Agha, while the Dutch found success after asking Aryan Dutt to bowl the first over. It might not be a bad idea for India to get Ishan Kishan on strike early and let Abhishek be at the other end. Small adjustments help, and he can get a feel for the conditions before taking strike.

Overall, he needs to be backed. And sooner rather than later, he will come good. It could just be the game against South Africa on February 22.

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