Published: Feb 27, 2026, 04:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 27, 2026, 04:29 PM (IST)
Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin came out strongly in support of Abhishek Sharma after the young opener faced criticism from ex-Pakistan star Mohammad Amir. Amir had called Abhishek a “slogger” with no defensive skills following his hat-trick of ducks in the T20 World Cup 2026 group stage.
Abhishek bounced back in style during India’s must-win Super 8 match against Zimbabwe, scoring a quick 55 off 30 balls. Ashwin praised the comeback and hit back at Amir’s comments.
Ashwin made his thoughts very clear on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“There is a video of Mohammad Amir doing the rounds, where he called Abhishek Sharma a slogger. I just want to make one thing clear: you can say anything about his game, but he is not a slogger. He has one of the most enviable bat swings in the game today. We all know Yuvraj Singh is his mentor,” Ashwin said.
“He has probably got a better bat swing than him as well. You cannot get a better bat swing than that. Whenever Abhishek strikes the ball, it goes very far. So people can mistake him for being a slogger. The one thing Abhishek has been guilty of is showing intent on every ball,” he added.
Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar was also full of praise for Abhishek’s knock against Zimbabwe. Abhishek had struggled since returning from a stomach bug, scoring three ducks in a row.
But on Thursday, he played a calm and mature innings of 55 off 30 balls.
“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.
Abhishek’s comeback came at the perfect time for India. After early failures, he showed patience, good shot selection, and the ability to build an innings. His 55 helped India post a strong total and win by 72 runs, keeping their semi-final hopes alive.
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