Legendary Indian opening batsman Virender Sehwag has expressed serious concern over Abhishek Sharma’s shocking decline in form in the T20 World Cup 2026. He believes that Abhishek Sharma is walking a dangerous line between confidence and overconfidence.
Abhishek Sharma’s T20 World Cup 2026 struggle
The young Indian opener started the year 2026 like a superstar, thrashing the bowlers against New Zealand in the home series and breaking records with fearless strokeplay. But the current T20 World Cup 2026 has proved to be a nightmare for this Punjab player.
The left-hander suffered three consecutive ducks in the group stage against the United States, Pakistan and Netherlands. In every match he fell while trying to play big shots. A high hit ended in an easy catch and a wild swipe broke his stumps.
Also read: Mohammad Aamir makes explosive IND vs ZIM prediction; Claim again, India will not reach the semi-finals
In all three matches he fell while attempting big attacking shots. He was caught at deep cover against the United States and then missed a high shot against Pakistan. The left-handed batsman was clean bowled against Netherlands after a tremendous swing down the line.
Even in the Super 8 match against South Africa, Abhishek could only score 15 runs and lost his wicket with another wrong shot.
Virender Sehwag warns Abhishek Sharma about ego and shot selection
Sehwag believes that the problem is not talent but decision making. He pointed out that when Abhishek’s shots connect, he looks unstoppable, but currently, he seems keen to hit every ball out of the ground instead of understanding the situation.
Virender Sehwag on Cricbuzz: When Abhishek Sharma gets a shot, everyone celebrates it. But when he gets out after hitting the same shot and does not score runs, everyone criticizes him. So, it’s a very fine line between confidence and overconfidence. So the batsmen have to take care that he is confident, not overconfident.”
Also read: Irfan Pathan accuses Hardik Pandya of not making a place in Kuldeep Yadav’s playing eleven in T20 World Cup 2026
The former Indian opener said that Abhishek should hit the ball after seeing it and not “because of his ego.” He further explained that when a batsman plays with ego and without reading the ball, he easily loses his wicket and the same is happening with Abhishek.
Think before you attack: Sehwag’s clear message to Abhishek Sharma
Sehwag further added, “So, Abhishek can do one thing. If he sees a normal ball and hits it offside, then it is fine. But if it is good, he can stop it. There is no harm in hitting the ball. But what is happening now is that if he is on strike, he tries to hit all six balls.”
Cricket pundit openly said that Abhishek is attacking not by decision but by habit and is losing his wicket cheaply. There is a strong view that ego could be the main reason behind the young opener’s struggles, as the entire world was praising him when he became the world No. 1 T20I batsman.
“But if you don’t feel the shot is coming today, take a single or defend. So, the batsman has to play very thoughtfully. Be it confidence or overconfidence. So that has to be kept in mind,” Sehwag said.