Former Zimbabwe skipper Andy Flower reckons Abhishek Sharma’s century in the second T20I doesn’t guarantee his place in the remaining three matches of the series against Zimbabwe. The left-hander was dismissed for a blob in the opening match of the series but scored a blistering 47-ball 100 in the second game at the Harare Sports Club, Harare on Sunday.
The southpaw smashed seven fours and eight sixes in his whirlwind knock as he played a key role in helping India post a par score of 234 runs on the board after they elected to bat first.
On the other hand, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was part of India’s T20 World Cup winning squad, will join the team for the remaining three games. Jaiswal, like Sharma, is known to bat with an aggressive approach and Flower believes the tough competition for the opening slot is a good headache for Indian selectors.
“Well, we have got Jaiswal still coming into the series, haven’t we? So that sort of competition is exactly what the Indian selectors and all the Indian followers are looking for. It makes it really interesting and it’s great for the Indian game if they have got lots of options like that,” Andy Flower said on Sony Sports.
The RCB head coach added that Sharma’s knock will add a shot to his arm for the upcoming matches.
“He should be confident at the moment coming off such a great IPL and then getting a hundred in his second international match. So what a great start. It’s really important to get those runs as a young player because confidence and self-belief are so important to your chance of doing well. So I am very happy for him and I am looking forward to seeing more of him in this series,” Flower elaborated.
On the other hand, Tamil Nadu batter Abhinav Mukund expressed delight that Abhishek didn’t alter his game in the second match despite being dismissed for a duck in the opener.
“That’s exactly what you expect from him. I am so glad he didn’t tinker around with his game. He didn’t try and do anything different from what he does at the domestic level,” he said.
“I know the IPL is a very, very good and a high-standard league but international cricket is a different ball game altogether. He has come here and has done the same thing that we have seen back home time and again, and he has got a hundred to boot in international cricket,” Mukund observed.
The youngster was awarded Player of the Match for his fine knock. The third T20I of the series will be played at the same venue on Wednesday.
