‘Yuvraj Singh will be focussing on Abhishek Sharma’s weakness’ – Irfan Pathan on star T20I opener’s risky strokeplay

Abhishek Sharma has been enjoying the form of his life, having won back-to-back Player of the Series awards in his last couple of assignments for the Indian team. The left-handed opener first won the Player of the Series in the 2025 Asia Cup, followed by the one in the series against Australia. However, former cricketer Irfan Pathan has expressed concern over his highly risky stroke play, asking immediate attention from Abhishek’s mentor and legendary India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.

Irfan Pathan feels that Abhishek relies on his front foot while batting in the powerplay, and also reckoned that it will not take long for the oppositions to work out on a method to get him trapped. Pathan also advised that Abhishek and Yuvraj must work on the technique and temperament together to prolong the kind of form the youngster is in currently. Notably, Abhishek is the no. 1-ranked batter in T20Is, currently.

“Abhishek Sharma got the Player of the Series award, and he has been playing fearlessly, but we are talking about bilateral series here. Although Asia Cup was a multi-nation series. But teams are well-prepared in World Cups. If Abhishek Sharma steps out and plays every time, teams will start working him out. So, he must pick and choose, and I’m sure team management will be concentrating on this. Even Yuvraj Singh will be focusing on it. I will even speak to Yuvi (laughs),” Pathan told on his YouTube channel, as quoted by India Today.

“Abhishek will also be thinking that he cannot step out to every bowler in every inning. So, planning can be better. In this game, two catches were dropped off his bowling and even if one would’ve been taken, his innings would have ended,” said Pathan.

Abhishek Sharma needs to find a way to tackle variations, says Irfan Pathan

In addition to this, the 40-year-old also reckoned that the kind of cricket that Abhishek Sharma plays, it is keeping people in awe of his batting prowess. However, sometimes, the same aggressive mindset may become the reason of his fall, where critics will start questioning his style of batting. As a result, the cricketer-turned-commentator feels that it is extremely essential for the Punjab-born opening batter to work on his skill set to elongate his playing career.

“He will play the same way. It’s high-risk cricket, and it has high reward, but sometimes people may think ‘What shot was this?’ But fearless cricket should also have some rationale and planning. I’m sure Abhishek Sharma will be focusing on this. If he is stepping out, which bowler he needs to do it against. Second thing is, Nathan Ellis troubled him; hence, bowlers around the world will bowl to him with variation in the powerplay. Hence, he needs to focus on that, especially the bat flow. If slower ones come with varied pace – because balls can come up to head high, we saw that in Australia. Hence, Abhishek must work on these things,” Irfan Pathan concluded.

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