Sanju Samson piles pressure on Abhishek Sharma before T20 World Cup final with blunt message

India’s qualification for the T20 World Cup 2026 final has brought a lot of excitement for the fans, but Abhishek Sharma is under serious pressure before the title clash with New Zealand. After India’s thrilling win over England in the semifinal, Sanju Samson openly backed Abhishek Sharma, but at the same time his words have added more spice to the struggling batter.

Abhishek’s struggle continued in the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal against the England national cricket team at the famous Wankhede Stadium, where he once again failed to make an impact and walked back after scoring only nine runs.

The young Indian opener has been struggling badly against the off-spin, and England also exposed the same weakness. Yet, Abhishek is getting the immense backing of the Indian cricket team management and teammates. The left-hander has managed only 89 runs at an average of 12.71 and strike rate of 130.88 across seven innings in the ongoing tournament.

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GG Bhai and Surya have a lot of faith and confidence in Abhishek Sharma: Samson

Still, there is a positive environment inside the Indian dressing room. Indian coaches, especially Gautam Gambhir, captain Suryakumar Yadav, and senior players believe that one good inning can completely change Abhishek’s story.

Now, Samson has expressed confidence that the T20 World Cup 2026 final could be the perfect moment for Abhishek to bounce back. The Indian wicketkeeper also noted that Gambhir and Suryakumar have a lot of faith in Abhishek despite flop campaign.

Samson backs Abhishek to play big knock in Final

Sanju Samson told reporters in Mumbai, "We have a great dressing-room environment. Our leaders have a lot of faith in Abhishek, and we're all supporting him. Every player goes through ups and downs. It may just take a couple of good shots in the middle, and everything can change in this format.

We still believe in him, and who knows—maybe the final will be his day. We feel that the final is going to be his day—he is definitely going to come in really great on the last day. GG, Bhai, and Surya have a lot of faith and confidence in Abhishek.”

Read Also: Shoaib Akhtar reveals how Sanju Samson finally got his big World Cup moment

Virender Sehwag demands the same backing for Varun Chakravarthy as Abhishek Sharma

Meanwhile, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag raised a big question about the ongoing buzz around Varun Chakravarthy and Abhishek Sharma. He pointed out that if the team management can continue backing the young opener despite his poor scores, then the same support should also be given to the struggling spinner.

Varun started the tournament brilliantly with nine wickets in the first four matches, but his form dipped later. In the semifinal at Wankhede Stadium, he leaked 64 runs in four overs, taking his total to 186 runs conceded in the last four games. Sehwag believes that players going through a rough phase should get the same patience and backing from the team.

Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz: “Even Abhishek Sharma isn’t doing well. So, if you are backing him, what’s the issue with backing a bowler? It is people’s job to criticize. If you are playing a batter who has only one fifty in his last 5-6 innings and if you tell a bowler that you have conceded runs in the last three games, so we are looking for a different bowler, what is the guarantee that the replacement bowler will do well?”