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Ravi Shastri urges Abhishek Sharma to show patience
India great Ravi Shastri has urged young opener Abhishek Sharma to show more patience at the start of his innings as the Men's T20 World Cup progresses, underlining that composure could prove crucial in the tournament’s decisive stages.
Abhishek endured his second straight disappointment with the bat during India’s commanding 61-run victory over arch-rival Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday. He was dismissed without scoring against Pakistan after being claimed by Pakistan captain Salman Agha. Despite entering the tournament as the world’s No.1 ranked T20I batter, Abhishek has not found the rhythm at the top of the order.
Positively, for India, his struggles have not disrupted the team’s unbeaten campaign, with other players stepping up in times of need. However, Shastri believes that as the tournament moves into its knockout phase, India will need Abhishek to fire on all cylinders.
"I think he's due, but he just has to give himself a little bit of time," Shastri said on the ICC.
"Such things happen and you can go off the boil, but he's just got to give himself a little more time until he gets back on track."
"Because for him to convert those dot balls later on into boundaries and sixes, is not difficult."
In the match against Pakistan, Ishan Kishan stepped up impressively. The talented left-hander delivered a scintillating performance, smashing 77 off just 40 balls to power India to a great total of 175/5 in 20 overs.
"He's batting like a dream at the moment. Striking on that track (Colombo pitch) at close to 200 is unreal," Shastri said.
"Every batter didn't find it easy, whether it was Indian or Pakistani, because the ball was stopping and for him to strike the way he did, and what I liked was how quickly he assessed the conditions," he said.
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