Former India batsman Manoj Tiwary criticized Abhishek Sharma after his performance against West Indies and told the opener to change his mindset ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals. Abhishek has struggled for runs during the ongoing tournament, scoring only a fifty against Zimbabwe. The Indian opener had three back-to-back ducks against USA, Pakistan and Netherlands before scoring 15 off 12 against South Africa.
Abhishek has 80 runs in six matches at an average of 13.33 and a strike rate of just over 131. He was dismissed for 10 runs off 11 balls but India eventually managed to get over the line thanks to the brilliance of Sanju Samson. In addition Abhishek was also sloppy on the fielddropped two catches.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Tiwary criticized Abhishek for not putting value on his wicket and playing rash shots.
“If you don’t put a price on your wicket, you will play such free shots,” said Tiwary while speaking on Cricbuzz.
The former India batsman said Abhishek is already a star but he needs to step up and make sure he wins matches for India.
“Abhishek has already become a star in such a short time, but if he wants to be a superstar, he has to win matches for the team. There is so much competition, so many match winners, so he has to be ahead of them,” he added.
“It was a good opportunity for him today. He dropped two catches as well. He has to develop a mindset where he has to decide which balls to go for and which balls not to go for,” Tiwary further said.
WHY ABHISHEK FAILS?
Irfan Pathan talked about the technical issue with Abhishek’s form and said that he needs to adjust his game.
“One concern is Abhishek Sharma’s form again. After scoring a fifty I felt he would continue to run but when he went for that shot his back knee was too bent and his body weight was falling backwards.”
“Ideally more weight should be on the front foot because it suits him better. He will have to pay attention to that,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
India will face England in the second semi-final on March 5 in Mumbai.
T20 World Cup | T20 World Cup Schedule | T20 World Cup Points Table | T20 World Cup Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Published on:
March 3, 2026 3:01 PM IST
