Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has put his weight behind Abhishek Sharma after India suffered a 24-run loss against the West Indies in the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Sharma, who is known to hit the ground running, could not bat at the top of his game as he meandered to 29 runs off 24 balls when the required run rate was more than 12 from the get-go.
Sanju Samson dominated the strike as Abhishek faced a handful of balls in the Powerplay overs. But the left-hander failed to find his timing after the field restrictions were lifted.
“Many people will say that we slowed down in the middle or that Abhishek Sharma played slowly. But, in reality, all your batters cannot fire on a single day, that will never happen. Abhishek Sharma will not give you 20-ball 60 in every game. He will get out, and he will play slow at times. Sure, we can sit here and criticise that he played slowly and could not accelerate, but the main focus here is the bowling. So, according to me, blaming the batters here would be excessive,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
“I have seen many times that he is batting on 40 or 50 and when the spinner comes on after the powerplay, he takes them on for a six straightaway because he has already got a start, and he is able to play at his own pace by then. He has scored IPL centuries on this ground, and why is that? Because he is able to take on spin in the middle overs. He is not just a power play batter. People are saying that today he did not get time in the powerplay so he struggled today. I do not believe that at all,” he added.
The former UP batter urged the fans and critics not to overreact to Abhishek Sharma’s knock, as he has proven his mettle in the past.
“I have seen Abhishek Sharma hit sixes even when the field is open after the powerplay. Today was just his off day where he just could not get off to a start. So, he might have been in two minds there. But I don’t believe that he cannot hit boundaries after six overs. He is equally dangerous after the powerplay. I think the less we discuss about it, the better,” Mohammad Kaif said.
India and the West Indies will play the fifth and final match of the series at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Saturday.
