‘Just try to time the ball’ - Former opener gives valuable batting tips to Abhishek Sharma ahead of IND vs ENG semi-final
It has been a horrific campaign for the World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek. He entered the tournament with humongous expectations. But, the story so far has been completely opposite of it.
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Former Indian opener Parthiv Patel has shared some pieces of advice for the struggling opener Abhishek Sharma ahead of India’s much-anticipated clash against New Zealand in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026. The iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, is set to host this marquee clash.
It has been a horrific campaign for the No. 1-ranked T20I batter in the ongoing twenty-team tournament, where he has amassed a grand total of only 80 runs across six matches, which includes three scores of ducks as well. He entered the tournament with humongous expectations all across the world. But so far, the story has been completely the opposite of it.
Now, with the Indian team taking on the strong England side in a do-or-die encounter, Parthiv has passed on a few tips to Abhishek and suggested a few changes for his batting to return to form in the clash at the Wankhede on Thursday.
"Basically nothing. If I were there in the dressing room, I would tell Abhishek Sharma to just react to whatever delivery is being thrown at him. We have seen how skillful he is, not just six-hitting ability, but to score those big runs. He needs to go back to just timing the ball again. I felt, even in Kolkata, he was trying to hit the ball out of the Eden Gardens," Parthiv said on Star Sports.
Another opportunity for Abhishek to scored 100 vs England
The cricketer-turned-commentator further noted that the wicket at Wankhede is very good for the batters, citing that the Punjab batter simply needs to spend some time in the middle and look to time the ball nicely instead of going for the attacking mindset from the very first ball.
"Here on this ground [Wankhede Stadium], the bounce will be true, there will be pace, and he has to make sure that he just tries to time the ball, so that he has that stable base to launch into bigger shots. To me, that's where he is losing his shape a bit. Nothing apart from that. I don't want him to change his mindset. You have to respect the ball, but you have to still be attacking with your mindset," Parthiv noted.
In six innings so far, the aggressive Indian opener has scored just 70 runs, including three consecutive ducks. Not just the runs tally, the manner with which Abhishek Sharma is batting is not anywhere near his natural style.
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