Sunil Gavaskar Serves Bitter Pill To Abhishek Sharma After Yet Another T20 World Cup Failure

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar analysed star batter Abhishek Sharma's elongated rough patch in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, following the Super 8 clash against South Africa on Sunday. Unlike the group stage, where he registered three ducks in as many matches, Abhishek did manage to find a start in Ahmedabad. However, he failed to convert it into a significant knock, gifting his wicket to Marco Jansen in the fifth over. His innings ended at 15 off 12 balls when Jansen's knuckleball deceived him; the resulting top-edge was safely held by mid-wicket, who ran to his right while avoiding a collision with the oncoming mid-on.

Analysing the dismissal, Gavaskar praised the South African bowlers for denying Abhishek the room to free his arms, specifically highlighting how Kagiso Rabada's relentless lines into the pads to cramp his movement.

"The fluency is not there at the moment. In the nets, you know you'll face the next ball even if you get out on the first. But in a match, it's a completely different story. That pressure can almost freeze you, restricting the free movement of the arms when aiming for a big shot. He got a little stuck there, and South Africa bowled very cleverly. They know he likes to make room and play through the off-side, so look at Rabada, he kept targeting the pads relentlessly, even after conceding a six," Gavaskar said on Star Sports after the match.

Meanwhile, South Africa handed India their first defeat of the campaign on Sunday in Ahmedabad, keeping their own unbeaten run intact. The 76-run thrashing now stands as India's heaviest defeat in T20 World Cup history.

Chasing a target of 188, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side was bundled out for a paltry 111 in 18.5 overs. Reflecting on the crushing loss, Gavaskar criticised the Indian batters, slamming their poor shot selection on a surface that required more discipline.

"Batters showed poor shot selection. Look at David Miller and Dewald Brevis; on a pitch where the ball wasn't coming onto the bat easily, they applied themselves and built a good score. However, the Indian batters failed to do the same," Gavaskar added.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Abhishek Sharma Sunil Gavaskar T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket