New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) India opener Abhishek Sharma has endured a difficult start to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, registering his third successive duck in the team’s final group-stage fixture against the Netherlands and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes expectations may be weighing heavily on the 25-year-old, urging him to focus on building his innings rather than forcing big shots too early.

The sequence has placed Abhishek alongside Ashish Nehra for the most ducks by an Indian in T20 World Cup history, highlighting a rare slump for one of India’s most explosive batters.

“Abhishek Sharma is a lovely guy, but expectations seem to be weighing on him. If he had started well against the USA, it would have been different. Now, the pressure of being the big six-hitter and top batter is showing. With his shot range, he needs to spend time in the middle. He cannot try to hit a boundary or six on the first ball of his innings. If the big shots come, fine. But he shouldn’t force himself to play the big shots across the line,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Sharma’s struggles began with a golden duck against the United States, followed by another early dismissal against Pakistan and then the Netherlands. In each instance, he fell within the first over, attempting aggressive strokes before settling in. Gavaskar emphasised the importance of getting off the mark and allowing his natural strokeplay to flow later in the innings.

“Take a single and get off the mark. Even four dot balls don’t matter. He can make up for them later. He needs to play smart. Spend an hour or two settling in, then play his natural game. First, just get off the mark. Every batter wants that first run. Once he gets it, everything will fall into place,” he added.

Despite the lean patch, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate expressed confidence in Sharma’s ability to bounce back, pointing to encouraging signs in training after his recovery from illness that ruled him out of the match against Namibia.

“He batted really well last night in the nets. He spent 90 minutes batting. You also have to give him a bit of space. He came into the group phase not feeling too well, and he spent a few days in the hospital and missed the game (against Namibia). It’s been a very disappointing tournament for him so far. But I saw some really good signs with his ball striking last night. So no worries about him, he’ll be fine when the second phase comes.”

With India advancing to the Super 8s, the team management will be hoping Sharma can quickly rediscover his rhythm and play a key role in the decisive stage of the tournament.

–IANS

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