In the ongoing five-match T20I series, India's explosive batter Abhishek Sharma has slammed two blistering half-centuries, struck in a belligerent manner. Few players embody cricket’s volatility quite like Abhishek Sharma has so far done in the series against New Zealand. Behind Abhishek's numbers lies a far more nuanced story that batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was quick to clarify, dismantling the popular narrative. According to Kotak, Abhishek’s approach is rooted in playing the ball on its merit. 

“He is someone who plays a lot of shots, but his shots don’t seem like slogging. He is playing more on the merit of the ball. I feel it’s very important when you are an aggressive batsman, and you are trying to play maximum shots on the merit of the ball,” he said at the press conference.

The intent is aggressive, but the mechanics remain disciplined. As per Kotak, Abhishek  trusts his base and timing, allowing the bat to do the work.

“He is a clever batsman. In the second game, he got out playing big on the square leg. So in the third game, when he batted, if you look at the way he approached that innings, he was prepared. He was planning for the bowlers to bowl in those areas, and he was prepared for that,” he said.

“Obviously, it is his plan, what he wants to do when he goes in. But we definitely discuss the plans, like what areas the bowlers are trying to bowl, the pace at which they would bowl and what would be the better shot in the situation. It’s not that he just goes and does things (the way he likes). It’s not like that. He is very open to everything.” 

Kotak also backed struggling Sanju Samson, who has only managed to gather 40 runs across the past four innings. 

“Sanju is a senior player. Probably, he has not scored as many runs as everybody would have liked. That's part of a cricketing career. Sometimes you have five innings in a row where you score so many runs, and sometimes you have a little dry period. Our job is to keep him in a good frame of mind. We all know what he is capable of," Kotak said.