Triple duck trouble: Why India can no longer ignore Abhishek Sharma’s failures

New Delhi: Superstar Abishek Sharma’s dry run, with three zeroes in three matches in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, is more than a mild headache for India. As the Men In Blue ponder over results achieved in the league phase of the World Cup, there is no way Sharma’s colossal failures can be glossed over.

So, what is it that has led to a sudden collapse in form from the ‘Boy Wonder’ who had grabbed headlines in the lead up to the World Cup? When he was unwell during the opener against the USA in Mumbai and scored nothing, there was sympathy. He was in and out of hospital, when he landed in New Delhi. So, to have imagined Abhishek Sharma will bounce back right away was misplaced faith, from the team management as well as himself. Move over to the match in Colombo, again the Pakistan captain had said he would like to see India in full strength and Abhishek Sharma also score. Those words from Salman Agha were, perhaps, said in good faith as he wanted to see India at full strength. Even if Sharma the champion batter had not heard those words directly, it had started working on his psyche.

We have heard about Indian cricketers in the past, when legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar lit up Test cricket, how they never cared to read newspaper reports. That was possible. Today, talk, chatter, gossip, hype, everything is on social media. If someone says Abhishek Sharma does not follow social media, do not believe it. He will surely have his own personal manager who will be forwarding him messages/articles on the phone.

It takes rare, single-minded focus to shut oneself off from the world. Two Indian legends have done it in the past in the lead-up to Olympic campaigns, Abhinav Bindra, and Manu Bhaker. Both are from different eras, but the methods they chose in avoiding clutter and glare was important. To almost lock themselves up before the Olympics and not touch their mobile phones was defining.

The problem with Indian cricket and the cricketers is hype. If some folks are still saying Abhishek Sharma is ‘too good a batsman’ then they have lost focus. A place in the Playing 11 in the Indian team is based on form, performance and being relevant. For each coach who comes and tells the media they are “not worried” about Sharma failing, it is untruth.

Look at how Ishan Kishan has exploded into brilliance, recently, in the T20 format, on a return after a ling break. That is preparation, putting in hard work and executing shots and a game plan which are in sync.

In contrast, for Abhishek Sharma to fail at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, even against Netherlands gave away one thing, the 25-year-old from Amritsar, Punjab, is under pressure. There is a lot of effort at nets, we heard, there is match simulation and more such jargon. Truth to tell, a good batter will go out and find ways to score.

One case study is that of skipper Suryakumar Yadav. He had been in bad touch before the World Cup. Some even felt he was a wrong choice as captain. But then, Surya sorted out his issues. Even now, he is taking time to dig himself in and score. The same goes for Tilak Varma, who has also found the going tough. India does have deep batting till No.8. On Wednesday, one man who grabbed the opportunity and scored runs for India was Shivam Dube, who scored 66 runs. Dube, a top performer in the IPL many times, spoke of how he enjoyed the pressure in Ahmedabad on a tough track.

This is the kind of confidence needed, going into the World Cup. From beyond the boundary, it is clear, Abhishek Sharma’s struggles are in the head. He has been identified with explosive batting from the first ball. For someone mentored by Yuvraj Singh, aggression is natural. Yet, when aggression has to be curbed for the sake of finding touch, say, for 10 balls and then scoring, Sharma has not done that.

Reactions to the triple failure – three zeros – from Abishek Sharma has been discussed by all former cricketers, be it Sunil Gavaskar or Virendra Sehwag. Not all believe in calling a spade a spade. Frankly speaking, in the league phase, one can carry a ‘passenger.’ But that is unfair in the Super 8 stage where Abhishek Sharma will look a liability.

See what happened to mighty Australia. Their whole campaign boomeranged with many key players injured. Replacements sought were inadequate or too late. India needs to pick players in form. At the top of the order, you cannot have one batter becoming a liability. “He (Abhishek Sharma) batted really well last night (Tuesday) in nets. He spent 90 minutes in batting,” said Ryan ten Deschate, the assistant coach, on Wednesday night after India beat Netherlands by 17 runs. Such comments are more like an excuse. Sadly, Abhishek Sharma has none to offer now. India can look beyond him. Period.