“That might hamper you” - Varun Aaron opens up on Abhishek Sharma’s consecutive ducks in the T20 WC 2026

Former Indian pacer Varun Aaron has defended the dashing Indian opener Abhishek Sharma after his three consecutive ducks in the group stage of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Speaking exclusively to ESPNCricinfo, Aaron asserted that it would be quite tough to make technical changes to his batting in the middle of the tournament, adding that he has to trust his instincts and play the remainder of the campaign.

“In a tournament, within a tournament, you can't make any technical changes. You don't want to get into that zone as a batsman or a bowler because that completely shifts your mind from what you have to do in front of you to what you're doing. You don't want to be in that space at all. All you have to do is keep him in a good head space, have a good chat with him, maybe sometimes just don't practice, just go there, trust your instincts and play. And that's what he's been doing. If you talk about the first game against the USA, that was a brilliant shot, went straight to the fielder. After that, obviously, he's gotten out to off spin," Aaron said during a discussion on ESPNcricinfo on Friday, February 20.

Furthermore, Aaron reckoned that it’s not about technical changes, but his recent sickness, that resulted in his poor form. Notably, Sharma was hospitalized with a stomach infection ahead of the Namibia group stage clash. 

“Over the past year, he's been smashing off spin, leg spin, left arm spin, fast bowling, everything. So, and it's not because of any technical change. He's also come out from a sickness. Sometimes cricket's a really funny game. A small incident like an injury or a sickness can just change your rhythm. And sometimes if you just get too deep into your game instead of just being in a good mind space, that might hamper you. And I think he should just get back to doing things off the field that he likes doing, and I'm sure things will work out on the field for him," he added.

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