Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at opening batter Abhishek Sharma ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 Final between India and New Zealand. Gavaskar went after the left-handed batter for his repeated failures at the T20 World Cup 2026.
Gavaskar went to the extent of asking the Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, to drop the opening batter. The 1983 World Cup winner believes that Sharma has not learned from his mistakes and should be shown the door ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 final.
Abhishek Sharma’s woeful form at the T20 World Cup 2026
There is no denying the fact that Abhishek Sharma has been out of form at the T20 World Cup 2026. The left-handed batter has scored only 89 runs in seven innings so far in the tournament. He is averaging only 12.71 in the tournament with a poor strike rate of 130.88.
Coming into the tournament, Abhishek was ranked the number one batter in the format, having scored more than 1041 runs in his last 26 innings. However, a stomach infection right before the first match of the tournament seems to have taken the sting out of his attacking prowess.
Gavaskar wants Abhishek to be dropped
Sunil Gavaskar, while talking about Abhishek Sharma, talked about how it was time that the 25-year-old should be dropped from the Indian team. The former World Cup winner said, “It’s a very tough call. Abhishek Sharma is the No. 1 batter in the ICC T20 rankings, but he hasn’t learned from his dismissals. He keeps getting out in the same region where his arms are cramped for room. Bowlers are targeting that area and forcing mistakes. My concern is that he either hasn’t adjusted yet or is unable to change his approach.”
Gavaskar believes Rinku Singh should replace the left-handed opening batter and slot in the middle-order, with Ishan Kishan moving to the top of the order. “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,” Gavaskar said.
Kuldeep Yadav to replace Varun Chakravarthy?
Along with Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy’s form has dwindled in the last few games. The mystery spinner has been put on the back foot by the opposition batters. His loss in form as well as confidence led to Gavaskar talking about potentially replacing Chakravarthy with Kuldeep Yadav. He said, “The other change I would consider is bringing in Kuldeep Yadav. Varun Chakravarthy’s confidence looks shattered at the moment. Since the Super Eight stage, when he faced stronger teams, he has struggled and conceded a lot of runs. At a ground like the Narendra Modi Stadium, with big boundaries, Kuldeep Yadav could be a good option because he can turn the ball even on flat surfaces.”
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