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India batter Abhishek Sharma revealed why the team management made the serprising decision of elevating Harshit Rana up the order during the second T20I of the five-match series against Australia. Notably, Harshit had come out to bat at No.7 over Shivam Dube during the match and went on to play a decent inning of 35 runs from 33 deliveries before being dismissed by Xavier Bartlett. He formed a 56-run robust stand with Abhishek and played a key role in the Men in Blue posting a respectable total of 125 runs on the board.
Following the conclusion of the match, Abhishek revealed that the team management felt that the left-right batting combination was a must on the pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and thus, sent Harshit over Dube. He further revealed that Harshit very well can bat in crunch situation and has hit him for sixes on multiple occasions in the nets.
"Harshit can bat. He hits me for sixes in the nets. He only told to play normally. He was aware of the situation and he wanted to bat deep. If Harshit hangs in, the right-left combination remains. That is why he was promoted over Shivam Dube, On this wicket, you needed the right-left combination. He batted well," Abhishek said during the post-match press-conference.
Abhishek on his batting approach
Abhishek also opened up on his fearless and attacking approach with the bat and remarked that he wants to put the bowlers under pressure from the get-go. He further said that both Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir have been very supportive of his batting and want him to continue playing with the same approach.
"For the approach that we take, you need to be consistent. If I give aggressive starts consistently, it gives the middle order time. I want to put the bowlers under pressure. When I cam back in the team, the support from Suryakumar and Gautam Gambhir was there. . The captain and coach are very clear what they want," Abhishek stated.
Abhishek's superb knock in 2nd T20I
Meanwhile, Abhishek proved to be India's top performer with the bat during the second T20I against Australia and played a fabulous knock of 68 runs from 37 deliveries. His inning included eight boundaries and two sixes and he was the only Indian batter, who looked to be comfortable on the Melbourne pitch. The left-hand batter will be looking to continue his brilliant run of form in the third T20I against Australia that will take place on November 2 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
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