Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary slammed Abhishek Sharma after his performance against the West Indies and told the opener to change his mindset ahead of the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2026. Abhishek has struggled for runs during the ongoing tournament, scoring just a fifty in the game against Zimbabwe. The Indian opener had three back-to-back ducks against the USA, Pakistan and Netherlands before scoring 15 off 12 against South Africa.
Abhishek has 80 runs in six matches at an average of 13.33 and a strike-rate just above 131. He was dismissed for 10 runs off 11 balls, but India were able to get over the line in the end thanks to Sanju Samson’s brilliance. On top of this, Abhishek was also sloppy on the field, dropping two catches.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Tiwary was critical of Abhishek for not putting a price on his wicket and playing rash shots.
“When you don’t put a price on your wicket, then you will play loose shots like that,” Tiwary said, speaking on Cricbuzz.
The former India batter said that Abhishek is already a star, but he needs to step up and ensure he wins matches for India.
“Abhishek has already become a star in such a short time, but if he wants to be a superstar, he has to win games for the team. There is so much competition, so many match winners, so he has to be ahead of them,” he added.
“Today, it was a good opportunity for him. He dropped two catches as well. He has to cultivate the mindset where he has to decide which balls to go for and which not,” Tiwary further said.
WHY IS ABHISHEK FAILING?
Irfan Pathan talked about the technical issue with Abhishek’s form, saying that he needs to make adjustments to his game.
“One concern is Abhishek Sharma’s form again. After scoring that fifty, it felt like he would continue making runs, but when he went for that shot, his back knee was bent too much, and his body weight was falling backwards.
“Ideally, more weight should have been on the front foot, as that suits him better. He will need to pay attention to that,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
India will face England in the second semi-final on March 5 in Mumbai.
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