Amir’s verdict on Abhishek Sharma’s batting – Is India’s star opener just a slogger?
A few days ago, Mohammad Amir caused a stir with his comment on Abhishek Sharma, India’s swashbuckling opener. “From what little I have seen, if you ask me honestly, I feel he is just a slogger,” he said on the show Haarna Mana Hai. “He has to go hard at every ball. On the day he gets going, it’s fine; otherwise, uske failure ke chances zyaada hain (the chances of his failure are high). He scores once in eight innings. Otherwise, his scores are 10, 15, 0 and 20. I don’t think he is technically sound.”
The Pakistan pacer continued, “He just stands there and wants all balls to be bowled in a particular area. This is my honest opinion. I am also saying that on the day he gets going, he will score big. He can hurt the other team. But he has a high-risk game. I will consider him a proper batter only when I see that the ball is swinging even slightly and he tackles it well and still smashes it with the same velocity.”
On expected lines, within a few hours of his remarks about the left-hand batter, the video had gone viral on social media platforms. A large section of Indian cricket fans hit back at Amir, with reactions ranging from abuse and diatribes to counter-arguments. What could be the reason behind Amir’s rather uncharitable comments? Can we detect an undercurrent of bad blood between India and Pakistan coming into play? Sitting on a sofa, it is difficult to imagine what Amir might have been thinking. So, let us stick to logical answers.
For starters, take a deep dive into Abhishek’s methods. If one were to transport oneself back to the 1980s and 1990s for a few minutes, it might feel as though he is a slogger. After all, Abhishek largely aims to manufacture room while facing pace bowlers in order to play lofted shots through the off side. But here is the catch. In 2026, in the era of ever-evolving pyrotechnics in T20 cricket, we have to expand the boundaries of conventional batting edicts.
Abhishek must be blessed with exceptional skill to possess such a massive arc in his bat swing, often coming from the gully region, and then crack shots through the covers and down the ground. He also charges down the track to some of the fastest bowlers around and consistently explores the off side. Even when confronted with a tricky surface at the MCG last year, Abhishek played with considerable freedom. Perhaps Amir could watch the highlights of that innings.
In summary, consistently charging down the track against pace bowling, taking on the line of the ball, and opening the bat face at the nth moment require far more than brute slogging.
There is another way to analyse his batting. An agricultural hoick can be described as the bat merely following the initial trigger – clearing the front leg and thumping it across the line. With Abhishek, however, the willow is more of an extension of his initial movements. The way he creates room and opens the bat face exemplifies this point.
Abhishek also possesses batting intelligence. To encapsulate this, consider his knock of 74 against Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup. At some stage, Abhishek appeared to recognise that he would be peppered with short deliveries. As a result, he repeatedly made small back-and-across movements to pull Shaheen Afridi’s offerings.
That, in brief, outlines Abhishek’s methods, which indicate that he is not merely a slogger. How about looking at the numbers, as Amir suggested that with his style of batting he is likely to fail eight or nine times out of ten? In 39 T20Is, the opener has passed the 30-run mark 17 times. For a player with a staggering strike-rate of 194.95 who plays a high-risk game, that is an excellent conversion rate. Moreover, his strike-rate rises to an astounding 204.7 after the Powerplay overs. Very few batters can boast such numbers after the Powerplay – an indication that he is even more effective against spin.
Yes, everyone’s opinion deserves respect. But it is fair to observe that Amir’s verdict on Abhishek’s batting does not appear to be supported by numbers and logic. It is also reasonable to conclude that this is a batter who seems to possess the raw materials to succeed in the longer formats as well.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news
The post Amir’s verdict on Abhishek Sharma’s batting – Is India’s star opener just a slogger? appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.
Comments
Post a Comment