The Zimbabwe national cricket team got a crucial breakthrough in the second T20I against the India national cricket team at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Saturday (July 25), with Blessing Muzarabani dismissing Abhishek Sharma for just 8 runs off 8 balls.
It was another poor performance for the Indian opener. His poor outing has increased the pressure on Abhishek, now Indian fans are criticizing and making fun of the opener on social media. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s former teammate’s message to CJP after Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Abhishek Sharma faces criticism after another poor outing in Harare
India had elected to bat first after winning the toss, but Abhishek Sharma’s early dismissal gave Zimbabwe a big lead in the second T20I in Harare. Muzarabani bowled a back-of-the-length ball which went past Abhishek and got extra bounce.
The Indian opener tried to punch it open with the bat, but the ball took the edge and went straight to Ryan Burl at backward point, and he did admirably well with Muzarabani celebrating the big wicket with a big fist pump as the hosts aimed to make a strong comeback.
Abhishek’s early exit is worrying as his recent statistics have not been that impressive. The left-handed batsman has been able to score more than 50 only four times in his last 15 innings. Read his last 16 T20I innings for India: 8(8), 1(8), 3(5), 16(14), 10(7), 43(24), 59(24), 0(1), 50(20), 52(21), 9(7), 10(11), 55(30), 15(12), 0(3), and in T20Is 0(4) Cricket.
Here is the reaction of fans on Abhishek Sharma’s Flow Show:
Abhishek Sharma is becoming inconsistent. But nobody cares because his name is not Sanju Samson
– Claus (@loyal_cskian) July 25, 2026
Abhishek Sharma – Useless man only interested in advertising #indvszim #t20
– Aditya Krishnan (@adityaskrishnan) July 25, 2026
Looks like Abhishek Sharma is shining in cricket against England! https://t.co/DSbiL1NUCl
– Wan Marco (@wanmarco127546) July 25, 2026
Abhishek Sharma’s last 5 innings
8 vs zim
1 vs zim
3 vs eng
16 vs eng
10 vs engHe was a complete failure in the World Cup. But it seems consistency and failure only applies to Sanju Samson, who won the World Cup alone. What dirty politics of @BCCI @imAagarkar pic.twitter.com/AFAS6Ck245
– 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗨 (@Brutu88) July 25, 2026
Abhishek Sharma is playing like Rohit Sharma, out after scoring 5-7 runs selflessly
– R_Kohlly02 (@Mr_kohlly02) July 25, 2026
Dogla Abhishek Asthana https://t.co/2zPgZjHYQE
– Gaurav Sharma (@gaurav12sharma) July 25, 2026
Abhishek Sharma may be washed pic.twitter.com/U67vpxRg1Z
— Wash (@tacticalfraudd) July 25, 2026
Last four innings 10(7),16(14),3(5),1(8)
today 8(8)Abhishek Sharma is the next Rohit Sharma and he is trying to prove it. pic.twitter.com/znLZx7v3Ed
– Vish (@vitaminkohli) July 25, 2026
Even Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, still this MC Abhishek Sharma is still playing for India. pic.twitter.com/BMHBajgkj8
– Abhishek Kumar (@abhishek060722) July 25, 2026
This slugger Abhishek Sharma is not made for Indian cricket
I have already said that all the left handed batsmen will be out blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarawa
Now all eyes are on Vaibhav Suryavanshi against Zimbabwe in Harare pic.twitter.com/UTCyklRGNY
— VK (@Aur_vicky) July 25, 2026
We dropped our POTT of t20i WC for this slugger Abhishek Sharma
– King in the North (@cricketwithsam) July 25, 2026
Abhishek Sharma, the blind sloganeer, is gone
– Shubham05 (@SHUBHAMDEVIL6) July 25, 2026
I am Abhishek Sharma pic.twitter.com/l6VXhwk0NA
– Megha || Abhishek and Bangtan (@abiilysm04) July 25, 2026
Abhishek Sharma 8(8)
Failed to score again against mighty Zimbabwe pic.twitter.com/6CAoLatIcy
– Abhay Mishra (@cover_Drive_k) July 25, 2026
Abhishek Sharma has no answer in Blessing Muzarabani!
Abhishek Sharma is struggling against Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani in T20 Internationals. The statistics show how Zimbabwe’s fast bowlers have dominated the Indian openers in this format so far. Abhishek has scored only 8 runs in 21 balls against Muzarabani and has been out three times in their T20I meetings so far.
The Indian opener’s batting average against fast bowler Muzarabani is just 2.66, while his strike rate is just 38.09. The biggest concern is the number of dot balls. Out of the 21 balls he faced, Abhishek could not score runs against the fast bowler on 16 balls. Meanwhile, Kris Srikkanth described Mohammed Shami as India’s X-factor for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Dinesh Karthik, Ian Bishop criticize Abhishek Sharma after another poor performance
After another poor performance for India in the second T20I against Zimbabwe, Dinesh Karthik questioned Abhishek’s repeated aggressive dismissals, while Ian Bishop believes that Abhishek has lost his confidence and has become an easy target for the bowlers.
Both Karthik and Bishop highlighted the Indian opener’s recent struggles and urged him to get back to basics, improve his shot selection, rebuild confidence and show more maturity if he wants to retain his place in the team.