T20 World Cup final: Will India drop Abhishek Sharma for final? Looks unlikely as of now
In many ways, the tournament has seen a reversal of fortune when it comes to India’s opening pair.
As the competition began, Abhishek was expected to be the mainstay of the batting at the top, while questions about Sanju Samson’s place lingered, with many predicting that this event could well decide the course of his international career.
But the narrative has changed significantly since the must-win Super Eight against the West Indies.
While Samson’s assured performance silenced many skeptics, the limelight gradually shifted towards Abhishek’s struggles.
While Samson’s form initially dominated the discussions, the decibel levels have now risen around Abhishek’s miserable run in the business.
The aggressive left-handed opener struggled to find rhythm throughout the tournament and managed scores of 0, 0, 0, 15, 10 and 9 in his last six matches. Barring a half-century against Zimbabwe, he has nothing spectacular to show for an event where he is said to have the upper hand. However, as the summit clash to be held in Ahmedabad on Sunday approaches, it seems that the team management is reluctant to make any changes at the top.
“We take care of all our players. GG bhai and Surya have great faith and trust in Abhishek,” opening partner Samson said after the England match.
Abhishek’s decline in form coincided with a physically difficult phase for him. Following the league match in Mumbai, he was dehydrated and had to be hospitalized due to a stomach infection, causing a noticeable weight loss and disrupting his rhythm at a crucial stage of the competition.
Opposing teams also seem to have developed a clear method to keep him quiet on the field.
The captains repeatedly used slow bowlers, especially off-spinners and slow left-arm orthodox setters, against him and did not give him the pace he preferred to operate at the start of the innings.
The method of dismissal is also similar.
Against Pakistan, he tried to tackle the spinner in the powerplay and mistimed the high hit. Against the Netherlands, an off-spinner headed towards him with a quicker delivery, narrowing the space for him and forcing a mistimed strike.
In the semi-final against England, he again started shooting early with a slower delivery and failed to achieve the promotion he wanted.
Abhishek often has to bat against spin and bowlers find it difficult to maneuver the field while giving speed to the ball.
Another technical aspect that is tested is the downswing speed of his bat. When the surface offers acceleration conditions, the rapid decline can make it difficult for him to adapt to slower deliveries late.
Pitchers used this to good effect by varying their pace and forcing him into attacking innings early.
One option would have been to bring in Rinku Singh but that creates another structural problem in the batting order.
With the current top-order and middle-order combination, the addition of another middle-order batsman could result in Rinku once again batting as low as 7th or even 8th, which would limit the impact he can make.
For now, the Indian team management seems ready to support Abhishek’s attacking bid at the top and avoid disrupting the combination that took them to the final.
