'Abhishek Sharma should be..' - Former England spinner dishes words of wisdom for Abhishek Sharma after his poor performances in T20 World Cup 2026

The star India opener Abhishek Sharma has recently faced criticism after being unable to deliver for India during its recent T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The left-handed batter has undergone a difficult tournament thus far, with three consecutive ducks and a painfully slow 15-run innings from 12 balls against the South Africans. The pressure on him to help provide solid starts, especially in crunch situations, is now reaching extreme levels. Despite his poor performance, the Indian cricket team management has continued to show faith in the young cricketer through this tough time in his T20 World Cup career. 

With all of this turmoil surrounding him, former England spinner Monty Panesar gave a little levity to the discussions about Abhishek’s apparent batting struggles by making joking comments concerning the green light he gave to Abhishek to consider not wearing his signature red ‘patka’ under his helmet when going out to bat. He took his jest further by using astrology to suggest a change in mentality and approach once reaching the crease. Even though the comments were made in fun, they were shared at a very sensitive time; as Abhishek has been trying to find his form and confidence in a global tournament with so much on the line.

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"Abhishek Sharma should be backed in these circumstances. But that red patka that you have been donning, just get rid of that. Probably that has been stopping runs for him. Whichever astrologer has asked you to wear that, just don’t listen to him. Leave it. Don’t put anything on your head. Just put the helmet on, take the bat, and see how many runs you score," Panesar told CNN-News18.

Watch the video here;

The opposition teams are coming well-prepared: Mohammad Kaif

Kaif said on his YouTube channel that opposition teams were coming well-prepared and were not offering him pace, adding that it was the knuckle ball that led to his dismissal in that match. He expressed concern about the batter’s technique against slower deliveries. While he mentioned that the dismissal in the first match did not worry him, he stated that the manner in which the batter got out in the other games had exposed flaws in his technique.

"The opposition teams are coming well-prepared. They aren't giving him pace. It was the knuckle ball in this match. I am worried about his technique against the slower ball. His dismissal in the first match doesn't bother me. However, his technique was exposed by how he got out in the other games," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.