After 'Slogger' Dig, Mohammad Amir's Message To Abhishek Sharma Over 4th Straight Failure In T20 World Cup 2026
Mohammad Amir, who called India's Abhishek Sharma a "slogger" has some important advice for the struggling batter.
Team India paid a heavy price for ignoring the ongoing issues in their batting unit at the T20 World Cup 2026. Although India progressed through the group stage of the tournament unbeaten, they were handed a cricketing lesson by South Africa in their opening Super 8 match on Sunday. The Proteas secured a 76-run victory, making India's progression to the semi-finals extremely difficult. One of the biggest pain points for the hosts remains the form of opening batter Abhishek Sharma, who managed only 15 runs in the match after three consecutive ducks.
Abhishek's failure at the top continued to put pressure on the middle order. While Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, and Suryakumar Yadav were able to absorb that pressure in previous matches, there was no one to play such a role against a quality South African bowling attack.
As the team management sweats over Abhishek's form, former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has offered him an important piece of advice. Amir, who had earlier branded Abhishek a "slogger", said that the batter needs to play according to the situation and not rush into forced shots early on.
"You must have seen that he scored 14 runs on the same side. All three of the boundaries he hit were off bad balls. He does have potential. He kept the same intent even after three ducks. But, as a senior player, my message to him would be that international cricket will expose your technique. If he brings a little patience and hits the ball where it is, it would be better. He has the skills; how he wants to utilise them is up to him," Amir said on the show Haarna Mana Hai.
MOHAMMAD AMIR ADVICE TO ABHISHEK SHARMA
— Richard Kettleborough (@RichKettle07) February 23, 2026
"As a senior player, my advice to Abhishek Sharma is very simple, Int'l cricket always exposes your technique. You need patience and you need to play according to the ball"
What's your take #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/l2HvCkzVdX
The former Pakistan pacer also pointed out that India are not as strong a side while chasing as they once were, since they no longer have stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the team.
"India were exposed as they were chasing for the first time in this T20 World Cup. This isn't a team that has Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. They handled the match as the situation demanded," he said.
Amir also questioned the Indian team's decision to drop Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel from the match.
"The biggest mistake India made was sending three left-handers at the top. Rinku doesn't even get time to play. You benched Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel against batters who struggle against spinners. No matter how big a team you are, you won't get results until you play the right combinations," he asserted.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team
Mohammad Amir