New Delhi: As defending champions India prepare for a high-stakes Super 8 showdown with South Africa in Ahmedabad, former all-rounder Irrfan Pathan Clarified technical and tactical adjustments Abhishek Sharma He had to overcome a shocking slump in form in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Abhishek, the world’s top-ranked T20I batsman, had a nightmare game to take a duck hat-trick, especially against off-spin. Pathan believes the root cause lies in the opener’s batting selection and approach rather than his natural skills.
“Abhishek Sharma was looking for off-spinners. Against Pakistan and Netherlands, off-spinners caught him. The problem is his shot selection,” Pathan said on JioHotstar.Explaining the flaw, Pathan pointed out that Abhishek tried to dominate too early instead of settling down.“His bat came down from a high angle and he wasn’t intending to hit the ball directly. He was trying to go over the wicket. That got him into trouble,” he said. “He moved his front foot off to create space but the bowlers didn’t give him space. These were not battable balls.”
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However, Pathan warned against making drastic changes, urging the youngster to trust his natural playing ability while making smarter decisions.“His hitting angle is changing, it’s natural for him. He doesn’t need to change that. If he tried to change it now, it would be a mess,” he explained. “The first thing to do is, get a hit, hit the target. Expect the spinner to come in, get to the other end, target the fast bowler. He doesn’t need to bat from the first ball.”While Abhishek has struggled, Pathan reserved glowing praise for the other opener Ishan Kishanhe is one of the best players in the game.“Ishan Kishan is in his form. He bowls the leg side very well. He targets square leg and fine leg,” Pathan said. “If you give him a legside pass early on, that’s going to be trouble.”But he also issued a warning ahead of the South Africa Test.“Against South Africa, I wanted to see what Kishan would do when their ball went wide and get him into the offside position early. He has improved a lot, but only after positioning,” he added.
