'If you bench him, his heart will sink' - Harbhajan Singh's massive remark on Team India star after IND vs ENG semifinal

Harbhajan Singh urged the Indian team management to persist with Abhishek Sharma in the final against New Zealand despite the opener having a forgettable T20 World Cup 2026 campaign so far.

Abhishek has only managed to score 89 runs in seven innings at an average of 12.71. Apart from the 30-ball 55 he scored against Zimbabwe, the Punjab batter has looked a pale shadow of his former self.

In the semi-final against England on Thursday, March 5, Abhishek hit two boundaries before getting out for nine runs off seven balls on a flat deck at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Despite the below-par performances, Harbhajan believes that Abhishek should play the final. He opined that the team management should back him to come out of his shell.

"I don't think he will be benched by the team, and even I don't think he should sit out either. Because this is the time to back a player. Yes, we accept that he has not done much so far, and he has not met the expectations. But how is he going to come out of the shell now? He can only do that when he plays. If you bench him, his heart will sink," Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.

Harbhajan hopes that the Indian team sticks to the side that they have backed since the Super 8 stage of the tournament. He also wants the other Indian players to rally around Abhishek and help him rediscover the form that helped him climb to the top of the ICC rankings for batters in T20I cricket.

"Even now there is scope of inprovement. There is still a lot of expectation from Abhishek Sharma, and I hope they play him in the final. Given that you have made no changes in the last few matches, they can continue the same way, and back him. This is the time for his teammates to back him," Harbhajan said.