Abhishek Sharma will either get out very early or bat the opposition out of the game: Parthiv Patel

Former Indian keeper-batter and commentator Parthiv Patel has backed the dashing opener batter Abhishek Sharma despite his two ducks against the USA and Pakistan in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. 

Speaking exclusively to JioHotstar, Parthiv has stated that Abhishek has scored more than 1000 runs with the aggressive approach, which will also keep the opposition out of the game if he plays 25-30 balls inside the powerplay overs.

"He has scored more than 1,000 runs with this approach only. We know the game will be like this only. He will either get out very early or bat the opposition out of the game if he plays 25-30 balls. So there is no need to change anything," Parthiv Patel said on JioHotstar.

"Secondly, everyone is saying he is playing very well in the nets. It's not like he is struggling. The practice pitches weren't that good in Colombo, but he was batting in control even there. Abhishek's strength is this only. If you have scored so many runs with such a high strike rate, why is there a need to change?" he concluded.

Notably, Abhishek suffered a stomach infection right before the start of the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. While he was part of the game against the USA, he got out for a golden duck. Later, he was admitted to a hospital and was discharged a day before the game against Namibia.

Though he wasn’t part of the playing XI in the second group stage game against Namibia, he made his comeback in the marquee clash against Pakistan, suffering a four-ball duck to Salman Agha in the first over of the contest.

India will next lock horns with the Netherlands in their fourth and last group stage game at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 18.

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