Mohammad Amir advised Abhishek Sharma not to premeditate where he is going to hit the ball, but instead to play his shots after judging the line and length of deliveries. His assessment came after India's tough loss to South Africa in their first game in the Super 8 stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
This game was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22. Chasing a 188-run target, India lost the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma in the first seven balls. The onus was on Abhishek, who came into the encounter after registering three consecutive ducks in the marquee event.
The Punjab batter got off the mark with a first-ball boundary off Aiden Markram's bowling. He followed it up with a clever six off Kagiso Rabada. However, his innings ended after he had scored 15 off 12 balls as he tried to hoick Marco Jansen to the on-side for a six but got more height than distance, allowing Corbin Bosch to take a magnificent diving catch after running backwards.
In one of the TV shows in Pakistan, the anchor reminded Amir of his statements on Abhishek from earlier in the tournament, when he called the top-ranked batter in T20I cricket a "slogger".
“Amir bhai, you got Abhishek Sharma out four times by sitting over here in Lahore,” the anchor mentioned.
The former Pakistan pacer was quick in his response as he defended Abhishek while explaining his earlier remarks on the batter.
“I was talking about him as a bowler. Good bowlers and good teams can expose him. The 14 runs he scored against South Africa were on one side of the wicket, and even the balls were not good,” Amir said.
Even after three zeroes, his intent didn’t change: Amir
Amir lauded Abhishek's bravery, highlighting how the 25-year-old didn't change his intent and tried to play his strokes even after failing to open his account in his last three appearances. The veteran cricketer urged him to work on his patience and play the ball according to its merit.
“He is a brave player. Even after three zeroes, his intent didn’t change. He was not on the back foot and didn’t look to score 15-20 runs before playing big shots. As a senior player, I would suggest him to work on his technique as international cricket exposes you. He needs to add patience to his game and play according to the merit of the ball. He has the skills, but it is up to him how he utilizes them,” he added.
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