Is Abhishek Sharma is best T20 Batsman India has ever produced?

[Ultimate_Game]

3 minutes ago, NameGoesHere said:

Indeed today he was batting like je’s closed his eyes. 
 

Just gunning for everything.  Someone one needs to sort him out. 

 

He's shot mentally. Earlier I thought it was the spinners causing the problem but today he was simply hacking away without any plan. I don't see him coming back in this tourney. Jaiswal would be a better fit but we can't get him in so Samson will need to come in.

[Frustrated]

0  0  0  12.   His scores in this WT20.  A True champ who rises to the big occassion of ICC tournament.  Best ever batter.  

[vvvslaxman]

2 hours ago, Frustrated said:

0  0  0  12.   His scores in this WT20.  A True champ who rises to the big occassion of ICC tournament.  Best ever batter.  

IT is a world cup where Sanju samson has still more runs than Abhishek sharma despite playing just 1 innings lol 

Sanju has better strike rate

Sanju has more runs

Sanju has more sixes  

 

than Abhishek lol Amazing

[Gollum]

His brief stay today was worse than his ducks. Hope he takes some time against Zimbabwe, he is way better than what he is showing these days. He is not a blind slogger. 

[rangeelaraja]

3 minutes ago, Gollum said:

His brief stay today was worse than his ducks. Hope he takes some time against Zimbabwe, he is way better than what he is showing these days. He is not a blind slogger. 

 

Have you ever seen him play an  decent defensive shot ? Controlled drives along the ground ? 

[rangeelaraja]

I am frustrated that Abhishek has no game plan other than playing risky aerial shots. Nothing at all. 

[Gollum]

22 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

 

Have you ever seen him play an  decent defensive shot ? Controlled drives along the ground ? 

Tbh things were working for him so far. Now he is being challenged, let us see how he responds. This was always coming because opponents ne bhi kaafi study kiya hoga, pity that it came in a WC and not few months later. 

[maniac]

2 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Tbh things were working for him so far. Now he is being challenged, let us see how he responds. This was always coming because opponents ne bhi kaafi study kiya hoga, pity that it came in a WC and not few months later. 

he seems a little unfit. I had cold/flu last week, took 2 days off. This guy is playing international sport. That agha’s ball would have disappeared 9/10 times. Couple of times too he was out to balls in his slot. Today yes SA bowled to him with a plan. However when they erred he still hit a couple of boundaries.

Edited February 22 by maniac

[rangeelaraja]

5 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Tbh things were working for him so far. Now he is being challenged, let us see how he responds. This was always coming because opponents ne bhi kaafi study kiya hoga, pity that it came in a WC and not few months later. 

 

Do you remember a guy called Ricardo Powell from West Indies  ? Or early Shahid Afridi. 

 

One track players who would fire in 1 in 10 games after they were found out. 

 

People have also studied Yuvraj Singh, Sehwag and Rohit Sharma alot -- but they still hammered the daylights of superior bowling attacks consistently  -- they had depth, strong defence and ability to play both on the ground and aerial shots. 

 

I worry about Abhishek because he has had success only one way, I do not think that one way will set him up for success in international cricket beyond 1 season.

[Gollum]

2 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

People have also studied Yuvraj Singh, Sehwag and Rohit Sharma alot -- but they still hammered the daylights of superior bowling attacks consistently  -- they had depth, strong defence and ability to play both on the ground and aerial shots. 

These guys put in hard yards in FC, and were successful there. So always had some semblance of technique and/or mindset to grind it out when things got tough. 

 

Abhishek has a FC avg of 30 after 24 matches. Just 1 100. Also poor List A record. 

[rangeelaraja]

42 minutes ago, Gollum said:

These guys put in hard yards in FC, and were successful there. So always had some semblance of technique and/or mindset to grind it out when things got tough. 

 

Abhishek has a FC avg of 30 after 24 matches. Just 1 100. Also poor List A record. 

 

And unless he goes back to the grind and improves his all round play and temperament - he will just be less than half an Afridi ( half because Afridi was very good with the ball, but a one track slogger with the bat ).

 

 

[Lord]

4 hours ago, rangeelaraja said:

 

Do you remember a guy called Ricardo Powell from West Indies  ? Or early Shahid Afridi. 

 

One track players who would fire in 1 in 10 games after they were found out. 

 

People have also studied Yuvraj Singh, Sehwag and Rohit Sharma alot -- but they still hammered the daylights of superior bowling attacks consistently  -- they had depth, strong defence and ability to play both on the ground and aerial shots. 

 

I worry about Abhishek because he has had success only one way, I do not think that one way will set him up for success in international cricket beyond 1 season.

 

You are comparing whole careers with 4 games that too in his first World tourney.

 

Kohli failed all WT20 2024 till the finals. Yuvi failed 2014 finals and 2011 semis (with bat), Sehwag failed on occasions too.

[rangeelaraja]

3 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

You are comparing whole careers with 4 games that too in his first World tourney.

 

Kohli failed all WT20 2024 till the finals. Yuvi failed 2014 finals and 2011 semis (with bat), Sehwag failed on occasions too.

Arrey Bhai - what is his first class record ? 
 

Those players you named are proper batsmen. 

Have you seen Abhishek play a decent defensive shot ? A single controlled drive either side of the wicket through the ground ? All he does is swing the bat wildly and play wild aerial shots. You cannot survive in international cricket with such a limited game. 

Edited February 23 by rangeelaraja

[Tillu]

He should stop looking to play every innings at a 190 strike rate. It's impossible to do that in ICC tournaments for any player because teams come up with plans.

 

The early loss of his wicket is putting pressure on the incoming batsmen. Even SA after losing early wickets yesterday played at close to run a ball till the 8th over. Now every team will bowl wide offside deliveries and we need to counter that.

[WC2011INDIA]

5 hours ago, Gollum said:

His brief stay today was worse than his ducks. Hope he takes some time against Zimbabwe, he is way better than what he is showing these days. He is not a blind slogger. 

If he struggles against Zimbabwe he should be shown the door. 

 

But somehow he will score some cheap runa and again be called entertaining. 

 

 

[Lord]

32 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

Arrey Bhai - what is his first class record ? 
 

Those players you named are proper batsmen. 

Have you seen Abhishek play a decent defensive shot ? A single controlled drive either side of the wicket through the ground ? All he does is swing the bat wildly and play wild aerial shots. You cannot survive in international cricket with such a limited game. 

 

Why do you need a first class record for T20s. He's proved himself in the format both in IPL and T20s before the WC. 

 

Defensive shots in T20 should be reserved for anchor players. Players have to be backed to play their game which got them success

[rangeelaraja]

4 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

Why do you need a first class record for T20s. He's proved himself in the format both in IPL and T20s before the WC. 

 

Defensive shots in T20 should be reserved for anchor players. Players have to be backed to play their game which got them success

 

 

The argument is not about needing a first class record to play T20 cricket. It is about proven adaptability and temperament at higher levels. First class cricket tests technique, game awareness, and the ability to handle quality bowling over time. If a player struggles technically, it often gets exposed sooner in international cricket than in franchise leagues.

 

IPL success does not automatically translate to international success. The IPL is a high quality league, but international T20 cricket is a different pressure environment. You face better prepared bowlers, clearer match ups, and far less margin for error. Many players dominate the IPL but struggle internationally because the standard and expectations are different.

 

Saying defensive shots are only for anchors is a flawed understanding of T20 batting. Even aggressive players need control options. The best T20 batters in the world can defend, rotate strike, and absorb pressure before attacking. Recklessness is not intent. He is too predictable. 

 

“Backing a player to play his natural game” does not mean ignoring repeated failures. If bowlers have found a weakness and the player does not adjust, then it is not about freedom to play natural game.  It is about a lack of growth.

 

 

[Frustrated]

16 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

Why do you need a first class record for T20s. He's proved himself in the format both in IPL and T20s before the WC. 

 

Defensive shots in T20 should be reserved for anchor players. Players have to be backed to play their game which got them success

Abhishek has got enough backing from kaptaan and TM to play his natural game ie to slog.  That's why he is still being persisted despite scores of 0 0 0 & 15.     But clearly, that strategy has not worked.  We hv reached the fag end of the tournament & are staring at a humiliating Exit on our home soil.   This strategy has not helped the team in any way.  

Edited February 23 by Frustrated

[Number]

Please someone delete this thread. @KV244 

[Lord]

9 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

 

 

The argument is not about needing a first class record to play T20 cricket. It is about proven adaptability and temperament at higher levels. First class cricket tests technique, game awareness, and the ability to handle quality bowling over time. If a player struggles technically, it often gets exposed sooner in international cricket than in franchise leagues.

 

IPL success does not automatically translate to international success. The IPL is a high quality league, but international T20 cricket is a different pressure environment. You face better prepared bowlers, clearer match ups, and far less margin for error. Many players dominate the IPL but struggle internationally because the standard and expectations are different.

 

Saying defensive shots are only for anchors is a flawed understanding of T20 batting. Even aggressive players need control options. The best T20 batters in the world can defend, rotate strike, and absorb pressure before attacking. Recklessness is not intent. He is too predictable. 

 

“Backing a player to play his natural game” does not mean ignoring repeated failures. If bowlers have found a weakness and the player does not adjust, then it is not about freedom to play natural game.  It is about a lack of growth.

 

 

 

Pressure handling will only come with experience. No amount of playing Ranjis can prepare for WT20 knockouts. Its reckless when it fails only. Same approach was being lauded previously.  Every player has a role and an opener especially has no reason to change it. If Abhishek plays defensive, he'll waste deliveries but there's no guarantee of success. If anything he'll put pressure on himself and the team. 4 players are not repeatedly,as I said even someone as experienced as Kohli failed in 4-5 games in WT20 before the final. 

 

Let him play full tourney and then assess. Others are failing too tbh