Former India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Varun Aaron has offered advice to Abhishek Sharma amid his lean patch during the T20 World Cup 2026. Aaron stated that the opener should avoid extra practice and back his natural instincts ahead of Team India’s Super 8 clash against South Africa.
Abhishek Sharma has failed to score a single run in the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2026. He was dismissed for three consecutive ducks, which has put him under heavy pressure. Sharma was dismissed in the very first over by off-spinners Salman Ali Agha and Aryan Dutt during the last two matches.
You Can’t Make Any Technical Changes – Varun Aaron on Abhishek Sharma’s Poor Form
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Varun Aaron said that Abhishek Sharma should avoid changing his technique in the middle of the T20 World Cup 2026. Aaron stated that Abhishek needs to stay positive and added that sometimes less practice helps, as long as the batter backs his instincts.
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“In a tournament, within a tournament, you can’t make any technical changes. You don’t want to get into that zone as a batsman or a bowler because that completely shifts your mind from what you have to do in front of you to what you’re doing. You don’t want to be in that space at all,” Aaron said.
“All you have to do is keep him in a good head space, have a good chat with him, maybe sometimes just don’t practice, just go there, trust your instincts and play. And that’s what he’s been doing. If you talk about the first game against the USA, that was a brilliant shot, went straight to the fielder. After that, obviously, he’s gotten out to off spin,” he added.
I’m Sure Things Will Work Out on the Field – Varun Aaron
Aaron said that Abhishek has also been dealing with health issues during the tournament. He added that illness or injury can sometimes disrupt a player’s flow. The pacer said that Abhishek should focus on staying relaxed and enjoying things off the field.
“Over the past year, he’s been smashing off spin, leg spin, left arm spin, fast bowling, everything. So, and it’s not because of any technical change. He’s also come out from a sickness. Sometimes cricket’s a really funny game,” Aaron stated.
“A small incident like an injury or a sickness can just change your rhythm. And sometimes if you just get too deep into your game instead of just being in a good mind space, that might hamper you. And I think he should just get back to doing things off the field that he likes doing, and I’m sure things will work out on the field for him.”
I Would Have a Chat with Abhishek Sharma – Sanjay Bangar
During the same discussion, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said that he would talk to Abhishek Sharma about what worked well when he was scoring freely. Bangar added that he would avoid giving technical instructions.
“I would have a chat with him about what were the things that he was doing very well when he was scoring all those runs. I would try and assess what is he thinking. What’s his mindset like? Is he rushing too much? Are certain things bothering him?”
“Has he started to doubt himself from an internal point of view? So I would not touch upon where he’s going to hit the ball, how he’s going to react to the ball. So I’m not going to do that,” Bangar said.
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