T20 World Cup 2026 — ‘Better Bat Swing Than Yuvraj Singh’: R Ashwin Hits Out At Mohammad Amir For Calling Abhishek Sharma A ‘Slogger’

Star Indian opener Abhishek Sharma roared back into form as he slammed an outstanding half-century during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 in Chennai.

Abhishek Sharma Made A Stunning Comeback vs Zimbabwe

Abhishek Sharma was struggling to score runs in the ongoing tournament, having registered three back-to-back ducks in the previous three games he played in the tournament. All thanks to his disappointing performances against the USA, Pakistan, and the Netherlands, Abhishek Sharma found himself at the receiving end of criticism and trolling. He was also given the label of being a “slogger” by former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir.

Later, maintaining his stance on the ‘slogger’ remark, Mohammad Amit also criticised Abhishek for not having any defensive gear in his batting.

“When it comes to Abhishek, I just said that he doesn’t have a defensive game. A player who cannot stop the ball, what else do I call him? Just tell me what to call him if he can’t come into the line and defend the ball,” he added.

R Ashwin Slammed Mohammad Amir For His “Slogger” Remark For Abhishek 

However, during the India vs Zimbabwe Super 8 match, Abhishek Sharma made a sensational comeback. He slammed a powerful 30-ball 55 runs, smashing 4 fours and 4 sixes. Abhishek’s quick-fire knock helped team India defeat Zimbabwe and to keep their T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals hopes alive.

After Abhishek Sharma’s heroics against Zimbabwe, R Ashwin backed the Indian opener and compared his bat swing to that of his mentor and legendary cricketer Yuvraj Singh. R Ashwin gave a strong reply to Mohammad Amir’s remarks on Abhishek, highlighting that Abhishek’s technique is way more refined.

“There is a video of Mohammad Amir doing the rounds, where he called Abhishek Sharma a slogger. I just want to make one thing clear: you can say anything about his game, but he is not a slogger. He has one of the most enviable bat swings in the game today. We all know Yuvraj Singh is his mentor,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.

“He has probably got a better bat swing than him as well. You cannot get a better bat swing than that. Whenever Abhishek strikes the ball, it goes very far. So people can mistake him for being a slogger. The one thing Abhishek has been guilty of is showing intent on every ball,” he added.

“Abhishek doesn’t have to give power on his shots. If anyone is talking to him, just tell him about the importance of timing the ball properly,” said Ashwin.

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Abhishej Sharma Expressed His Feelings After Finally Scoring Some Runs In T20 World Cup 2026

Meanwhile, during the mid-innings break, Abhishek was asked about how it felt to get back into form. Responding to this, Abhishek replied, “It’s always great, you know, when you contribute to the team. And I have been waiting for this moment for quite a long time now, so finally it’s happening. I’m really happy.”

Abhishek also confessed that it was not exactly what he wanted to do. “I would say it wasn’t that intentional, but I just wanted to, you know, spend some time at the pitch because, if you see, I haven’t even played 10-12 balls in the whole tournament yet. So, I just wanted to spend some time and give a special mention to the team for the way they’ve treated me so far. It was like at the end, you wouldn’t feel that I wasn’t scoring runs for the team,” he said.

“And I mean, in the practice sessions as well, in the hotels as well, they all were just waiting for this moment, and they all were just, you know, reminding me that, you know, you have done this before as well, and your time is not so far. You just keep believing. So that’s happened,” Abhishek added.

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