Abhishek Sharma’s weakness exposed by Gautam Gambhir’s ex-teammate: “Yuvraj Singh will be focusing on it”

Former India National Cricket Team all-rounder Irfan Pathan has highlighted a major weakness in Abhishek Sharma's game that might haunt the explosive opening batsman if it's not fixed as soon as possible.

Irfan Pathan said that Abhishek Sharma stepping out to all the bowlers early on in the innings is not the ideal approach and added that his mentor, Yuvraj Singh, would also be taking notes about this.

Abhishek Sharma bags Player of the Series award against Australia

The 25-year-old batting all-rounder Abhishek Sharma is an aggressive cricketer, and he only believes in tearing down the opposition bowling unit whenever he is in the middle.

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Since making his debut for India in T20I cricket, he has been an unstoppable force and taken world cricket by storm. He has managed to display explosive batting on a consistent basis, which helped him skyrocket to the No.1 position in the ICC Men's T20I Batting Rankings in no time.

Even after reaching No.1, Abhishek was not satisfied and kept batting brilliantly, which led to him becoming the highest-rated batter in the history of the ICC T20I Rankings.

He recently won the Player of the Series award in the five-match T20I series against Australia, where he registered scores of 19, 68, 25, 28, and 23.

Even Yuvraj Singh will be focusing on it. I will even speak to Yuvi - Irfan Pathan

In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Irfan Pathan said that Abhishek Sharma can't step out all the time, and he needs to hold himself back; otherwise, opposition teams can easily make a plan to trap him early. He elaborated:

"Abhishek Sharma got the Player of the series award and he has been playing fearlessly but we are talking about bilateral series here. Although Asia Cup was a multi-nation series. But teams are well-prepared in World Cups. If Abhishek Sharma steps out and plays every time, teams will start working him out. So, he must pick and choose and I’m sure team management will be concentrating on this. Even Yuvraj Singh will be focusing on it. I will even speak to Yuvi (laughs)."

"Abhishek will also be thinking that he cannot step out to every bowler in every inning. So, planning can be better. In this game, two catches were dropped off his bowling and even if one would’ve been taken, his innings would have ended," he added.

"He will play the same way. It’s high-risk cricket and it has high reward but sometimes people may think ‘What shot was this?’ But fearless cricket should also have some rationale and planning. I’m sure Abhishek Sharma will be focusing on this. If he is stepping out, which bowler he needs to do it against. Second thing is, Nathan Ellis troubled him; hence, bowlers around the world will bowl to him with variation in the powerplay. Hence, he needs to focus on that, especially the bat flow," he said.

Shubman Gill’s innings in the last two matches have also been a big positive - Irfan Pathan

Abhishek Sharma's opening partner, Shubman Gill, has faced heavy criticism since he replaced Sanju Samson at the top of the T20I playing XI.

However, Irfan Pathan defended Shubman Gill, saying that the T20I vice-captain has looked in good form and he has played brilliant knocks. He said:

"Shubman Gill’s innings in the last two matches have also been a big positive. I spoke about Gill in my previous video about how this template is the best for him. Focus on timing is a must. Everybody spoke about his strike rate, but the innings at Gold Coast was in a winning cause. That’s what we want, players who play according to the conditions. That is Shubman Gill.

"He left behind Abhishek Sharma in strike rate in Brisbane. India’s score is above 50 and if Gill’s strike rate is above 200 and Abhishek was slightly struggling – two catches off him were dropped. But Gill looked well in control. When you confidence to score runs and there is backing, you get to see results. The only hope is Gill shouldn’t leave behind this template. Timing is the template."

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