Will India drop Abhishek for final? Looks unlikely
The murmurs of concern have turned into full-blown criticism but despite his prolonged lean patch, India are likely to keep faith in Abhishek Sharma for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, given their well-documented unwillingness to disturb a winning combination.
In many ways, the tournament has seen a reversal of fortunes when it comes to the Indian opening pair.
When the competition began, Abhishek was expected to be the batting mainstay at the top while questions lingered over Sanju Samson’s place, with many predicting that the event could well decide the course of his international career.
But since the must-win Super Eight clash against the West Indies, the narrative has changed significantly.
Samson’s assured performances have silenced many doubters, while the spotlight has increasingly shifted towards Abhishek’s struggles.
If Samson’s form dominated discussions at the beginning, the decibel levels have now risen around Abhishek’s wretched run in the business end.
The aggressive left-handed opener has struggled for rhythm through the tournament, managing scores of 0, 0, 0, 15, 10 and 9 in his last six outings. Barring a half-century against Zimbabwe, he has nothing spectacular to show for in an event he was tipped to dominate.
However, the team management is understood to be reluctant to make a change at the top with the summit clash approaching on Sunday in Ahmedabad. “We are taking care of all our players. GG bhai and Surya have a lot of faith and confidence in Abhishek,” his opening partner Samson said after the England game.
The dip in Abhishek’s form coincided with a difficult phase for him physically. Following the league game in Mumbai, he was drained by a stomach infection and had to be hospitalised, which resulted in noticeable weight loss and disrupted his rhythm during a crucial stage of the competition.
On the field, rival teams also seem to have worked out a clear method to keep him quiet.
Captains have repeatedly used slow bowlers early against him, particularly off-spinners and slow left-arm orthodox tweakers, denying him the pace he prefers to work with at the start of the innings.
The pattern of his dismissals has also been similar.
Against Pakistan, he tried to take on the off-spinner inside the powerplay and ended up mis-timing a lofted stroke. Against the Netherlands, an off-spinner got him with a quicker delivery that angled into him, cramping him for room and forcing a mis-timed stroke.
In the semifinal against England, he was again early into the shot against a slower delivery and failed to get the elevation he wanted.
Abhishek has often been forced to manufacture strokes against spin, struggling to manoeuvre the field when bowlers take pace off the ball.
Another technical aspect that has been tested is the speed of his bat’s downswing. When the surface offers pace-off conditions, the quick downswing can make it difficult for him to adjust late to slower deliveries.
Bowlers have used this to good effect by varying their pace and forcing him to commit early to attacking strokes.
One option could have been to bring in Rinku Singh, but that creates another structural issue in the batting order.
With the current top order and middle order combination, adding another middle-order batter could once again leave Rinku batting as low as No.7 or even No.8, limiting the impact he can make.
For now, the Indian team management appears ready to back Abhishek’s attacking intent at the top and avoid disturbing a combination that has taken them to the final.
