With Abhishek Sharma coming into the Super 8s stages not in the best of forms, having scored 3 ducks in three matches he has played, there have been concerns about the Punjab batter heading into a high voltage clash against South Africa on Sunday. Captain Suryakumar Yadav, however, dismissed the talks about the 25-year-old’s form, saying the whole team is ready to cover for Abhishek’s performances.
“About Abhishek’s form, I worry for the people who are worried about Abhishek’s form. I worry about them. Why are they so worried about Abhishek’s form?” Surya said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“Last year, Abhishek covered for all of us. Now it is our duty to cover for him,” said Surya, with an obvious reference to his own wretched form that continued for last one year. But I think about those teams who are going to play against him. That he has not yet scored a run. You know the rest of the answers. When he scores a run, you have seen what happens. It happens, it’s a team sport, it keeps going on,” he added.
Abhishek opened the tournament with a golden duck against the USA in Mumbai before being ruled out of the second game in Delhi with an upset stomach. Last week, he returned for the high-stakes clash against Pakistan and fell for a four-ball duck to Salman Agha’s part-time off-spin in the first over. The script turned horrendous in Ahmedabad on Wednesday when the left-hander’s leg-stump was uprooted by Netherlands spinner Aryan Dutt in the first over.
“Our team requires a certain kind of game from Abhishek and he is trying to play in that manner. We never want him to lose his identity. If his method doesn’t work, we are there to cover for him,” Surya said.
Two of Abhishek’s ducks have come against the off-spinner in the first over. Agha’s ball skidded onto him, Dutt’s ball was back of length, quicker through the air and turning into him with the angle from wide off the crease.
The world’s No. 1 batter now bears the dubious record of being one of only three men ever to bag three successive ducks in the T20 World Cup.
The in-form Abhishek, who had entered the World Cup as the top-ranked batter in the format, was affected with a stomach bug even before the tournament opener in Mumbai. He played the match against the United States of America at the Wankhede Stadium despite being unwell.
Abhishek was subsequently unavailable for selection during India’s second match against Namibia in Delhi earlier this week. Battling an upset stomach and viral fever, the 25-year-old was also admitted in a hospital in the capital.
