Abhishek Sharma (ICC Photo) NEW DELHI: India’s star opener Abhishek Sharma has come under fire during the T20 World Cup 2026. The left-hander had a disastrous start to the tournament as he failed to open his account in the first three matches as he recorded three consecutive ducks.In the lead up to the final, Abhishek managed just 89 runs in seven matches, including those three ducks in the group stage. He made a brief comeback among the runs but scored only 15 against South Africa in the fourth match. He then rediscovered his touch with a quickfire 55 against Zimbabwe in the fifth match. However, his form dipped again as he could only manage 10 against the West Indies and nine in the semi-final against England.
Suryakumar Yadav made a spectacular comeback after India’s victory in the T20 World Cup
Despite the inconsistent run, the team management continued to back him, with coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav showing full confidence in the young opener.In the final over, Abhishek turned on the New Zealand bowlers and smashed an 18-ball fifty as India amassed a massive 255/5. India then restricted New Zealand to 159 to successfully defend their T20 World Cup title.Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was full of praise for Abhishek, playfully calling him a “rascal”.“I’m a big fan of Abhishek and there was a lot of talk about his position throughout the tournament. I got a couple of ducks in a row in the pool games and suddenly you think he’s under pressure, but there are guys you want in the big moments because they’re rogues and they go out on fire. That’s what Abhishek does, he develops the game he’s built on the opposition,” the wicketkeeper told the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast.Haddin also praised New Zealand for reaching another final, but pointed to their repeated problems at the final hurdle.“New Zealand did a good job again to get to the final. I thought New Zealand were really fired up for the final. The way Finn Allen and Tim Seifert batted. I thought they were in one of those tournament modes where everything goes their way. But the last hurdle (they couldn’t get over). The classier team won, didn’t they?” he added.Abhishek finished the tournament with 141 runs at a strike rate of 158.42.
