Abhishek Sharma is struggling with poor form in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The left-handed opening batsman is yet to open his account in this edition, as he has scored three consecutive ducks in the matches he has played for India. Despite being the No. 1 T20I batsman, he has struggled to score runs in major events of the competition.
Abhishek Sharma, who was struggling with a stomach upset and slow wickets, was not particularly responding to the wide swing of the bat and his nature of play. The left-handed opening batsman has been out on duck 5 times in the last seven innings played in this format. This is a matter of concern for the Men in Blue management as he has been the team’s best batsman in this World Cup.
Abhishek Sharma is one step away from getting his form back
Abhishek Sharma has a strike rate of over 192 in this format and has been the leading run-scorer for India in the shortest format of the game after the T20 World Cup 2024. Despite the bad phase, Team India management is not worried about his form as he is just one run away from playing a big innings.
Team India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also believes that the southpaw is just one innings away from his best form. However, the off-spin match against Abhishek has been successful, as in the India vs Pakistan game, Salman Ali Aga’s trick worked, getting him out in the very first over. Even in the Netherlands match, Aryan Dutt had dismissed Abhishek in the first over.
Spin-match against Abhishek can be fatal
India’s next match is against South Africa, who will probably be doing their homework against the explosive opener. Proteas captain Aiden Markram can take the new ball and bowl the first over with the match in mind, or ask his slow left-arm orthodox bowler George Linde to keep things tight inside the powerplay.
If Abhishek Sharma remains composed and cautious in the first few overs, he can regain his form against the Proteas. Abhishek Sharma’s strike rate against spin in T20Is since the start of 2024 was 206.59, the best among batsmen who faced at least 100 balls.
Teams feel Abhishek Sharma’s weakness?
A well-known IPL franchise batting coach, who has researched and prepared game plans against Abhishek throughout the competition, clarified the situation. When asked if teams have finally understood Abhishek’s batting, he replied emphatically, no.
The coach, who did not identify himself, said (as quoted by PTI), “Not at all. There was a bad ball caught at deep extra cover (first game) that could have gone for six runs, or gone a foot to the left or right of the fielder and that’s four.”
“Bowling to the off-spinner’s incoming ball, rather than the ball going away, doesn’t give much of a signal. And being caught at mid-on is neither here nor there.”
The coach also suggested that although he has been out twice against off-spinners, statistically he has not struggled against them, so it is not a matter of concern for the southpaw. He concluded, “He generally plays off-spin quite well. I haven’t seen anything untoward.”
Also read: Will Sanju Samson replace Abhishek Sharma in Super 8? ‘X-factor’ decision revealed amid T20 WC 2026
