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India registered a thumping 61-run win over Pakistan in ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 group stage clash on February 15 but opener Abhishek Sharma's form remains a slight concern. While Abhishek has the 'go big or go home' approach, he has registered two consecutive ducks in the ongoing tournament. He is yet to score his first runs at the mega event. The southpaw has four ducks in last six T20I innings. Amid a rare lean patch, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has offered a piece of advice to the big-hitter. Shastri doesn't watch Abhishek to be in a hurry but give himself time to make up for the dot balls and overcome the mini slump.
"I think he's due, but he just has to give himself a little bit of time," Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan after India's triumph over Pakistan.
"Such things happen and you can go off the boil, but he's just got to give himself a little more time until he gets back on track.
"Because for him to convert those dot balls later on into boundaries and sixes, is not difficult."
Abhishek was suffering from a stomach bug in the campaign opener against the USA. He did not take the field during USA’s run chase and was later admitted to the hospital in Delhi. He lost weight and missed the clash against Namibia at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. After regaining fitness, he made a comeback against Pakistan in Colombo but fell into Pakistan skipper Salman Agha’s trap in the first over itself.
Huge praise for Kishan
After Abhishek departed, Ishan Kishan took up the mantle to get India off to a blazing start. Kishan took the game away from Pakistan early on with his 40-ball 77. Shastri labelled his batting on a tough Colombo track as 'unreal'.
"He's batting like a dream at the moment," Shastri said. "Striking on that track (Colombo pitch) at close to 200 is unreal.
"Every batter didn't find it easy, whether it was Indian or Pakistani, because the ball was stopping and for him to strike the way he did, and what I liked was how quickly he assessed the conditions."
Abhishek will have a chance to regain his form on February 18 ahead of the Super 8 stage. India take on Namibia at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad which mostly produces batting-friendly tracks.
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