India’s young opener Abhishek Sharma has not had a good start to his T20I career so far. Although he has earned a place in India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against England, his performance will be under the scanner.
The young left-hander will be under pressure to enter the series as another spinner Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting in the wings. Former India all-rounder Aakash Chopra believes that Jaiswal will not allow Abhishek a breather and will try his luck with both hands.
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Aakash Chopra feels that Yashasvi Jaiswal is keeping Abhishek Sharma on his toes
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was happy with the opportunities given to Abhishek Sharma but felt that Yashasvi Jaiswal will not let him take a breather and will make the most of his opportunities if he gets one.
“Abhishek Sharma was given a vote of confidence, I liked him because he was retained in the team. However, he was hanging on by a thin thread. Let’s face it, Yashasvi Jaiswal is not letting him breathe. He is breathing. He has put his neck down and that is absolutely true,” said Chopra.
The cricketer-turned-commentator further claimed that Abhishek Sharma has not made the most of his opportunities so far apart from one good knock each in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
“Only the Ranji Trophy, it’s not a great story. If you look at it from that angle, it’s a big opportunity for Abhishek. He hasn’t made the most of his opportunities so far. His century in Zimbabwe was great. Then he played a good knock in South Africa,” he said.
Abhishek Sharma’s numbers in T20Is
Abhishek Sharma has played 12 T20Is so far and scored 256 runs at an average of 23.27 and a strike rate of 171.81. The left-hander has scored one hundred and fifty each in his T20I career so far.
The 24-year-old was dismissed for a duck in his debut game but came back strongly to score a hundred in his second match. He scored 100 off just 47 balls with 7 fours and 8 sixes. His fifty came in the T20I series against South Africa at Centurion.
Aakash Chopra supports Yashasvi Jaiswal to replace Abhishek Sharma
Aakash Chopra also backed Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the batting in T20Is, calling him a “three-format player”. He argued why Jaiswal was not given a chance in white-ball formats despite being a perfect game for all types of cricket.
“He (Yashasvi Jaiswal) is a left-hander who plays the same way. He is a three-format player and he is in form now. After a while, as an Indian fan, you start thinking that he won’t get a chance. ODIs like Shubman (Gill) and Rohit (Sharma) will open and he , what kind of cricket would he play when he goes to the Champions Trophy?” Chopra noted.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has played 19 Tests and 23 T20Is so far. He has a perfect record in Tests with 1798 runs at an average of 52.88. He also has a good T20I record with 723 runs at an average of 36.15 and a strike rate of 164.31.
