India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir backed Abhishek Sharma to the hilt in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026. Gambhir recalled that he himself went through a rough patch in IPL 2014 while leading Kolkata Knight Riders.
The former opener said he bagged four consecutive ducks in the tournament and was under immense pressure. Similarly, Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for three consecutive ducks in the group stages and was found wanting against the off-spinners. The southpaw scored a fifty against Zimbabwe (55 off 30) but then once again could not deliver against the West Indies and England in the virtual quarterfinal and semifinal clashes, respectively.
However, the Indian opener finally came good in the all-important final against New Zealand, scoring 52 runs off just 21 balls to give a blistering start to the team. Sharma and Sanju Samson added 98 runs for the opening alliance, including 92 in the Powerplay overs.
Gambhir revealed he told Sharma that he is not out of form but out of runs.
He said on JioHotstar, “I’ve had a worse experience than him in 2014 during the IPL, when I got three ducks in a row and then another in the fourth game as well. All I told him was that people will look at your scores and will talk about your form, but actually, you are not out of form; you are just out of runs.
“The only time you can judge your form is when you have played 20 to 30 balls in the middle, and he hasn’t even faced 20 balls yet. All I wanted him to do was go out there in the next game and be even more aggressive compared to what he was in the previous game,” Gambhir added.
The former Indian opener said he urged Abhishek Sharma to keep batting aggressively in the T20I showpiece despite low returns.
“[I told him] If you want to hit the first ball out of the ground, go and do it, and commit yourself to it 100 per cent because it really doesn’t matter what the world thinks about you. All that matters is what those 30 people in the dressing room think about you, and that is exactly what should matter to all the boys.”
Abhishek Sharma will next represent Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026.
