T20 World Cup: Surprised to see Abhishek Sharma playing defensively but he has silenced his critics, says Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said he was surprised to see Abhishek Sharma play a defensive stroke, praising the explosive opener for silencing his critics with a timely half-century against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup.

Since returning from a stomach bug, Abhishek looked a distant shadow of his dominating self, registering three ducks in a row.

However, on Thursday, Abhishek snapped the lean patch, scoring a 30-ball 55 in India’s 72-run win over Zimbabwe to signal a return to form.

“We know how good Abhishek Sharma is as a batter. He silenced his doubters with this knock of 55 runs against Zimbabwe,” Gavaskar told JioStar.

“He took that extra time to start his innings. There was a method to his batting. He respected the off spinner, didn’t take any kind of risks and played in a calm and a composed manner.” “In this game, he actually played a defensive shot. He defended the ball. I was surprised to see that because we don’t usually see Abhishek do that,” Gavaskar added.

The legendary batter said it has been a learning curve for Abhishek, whose batting exploits are at the forefront of India’s attack.

“I really think this is a learning curve for him. Every cricketer goes through a rough patch of not scoring runs in back-to-back games. It is about how much you learn from it,” Gavaskar said.

“I feel Abhishek has learned a lot and this will augur well for him going forward, in the next couple of games and the all-important clash against West Indies in Kolkata.” Gavaskar said India appeared a “broken” side against South Africa but learnt quickly from their mistakes to bring Sanju Samson back at the top to ensure a right hand-left hand combination.

“As they say, why fix things if it ain’t broke? But India were broken against South Africa. They realised they needed a right-left combination at the top. Learning from the previous game was very important,” he said.

“In the interest of the team, he (Samson) went for a big hit and got out. That is fine because he got India off to a flying start. In a tournament like the T20 World Cup, that is important. A flying start gives a nice platform for the other batters to come in and smash the ball around.”

Gavaskar said India will have to be wary of West Indies’ all-round firepower as the two teams meet in a virtual knockout game in Kolkata on Sunday.

“(The) West Indies is a completely different challenge. They cannot be taken for granted. Their batters are in top form. Their bowlers are doing well. They punish opposition mistakes and strike at the right time,” Gavaskar said.

“India will need a good plan to handle the West Indies batting threat. Their batters start playing shots from ball one. They do not wait to see if the delivery needs respect. Their way of respecting the ball is by hitting it over the ropes.”