Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has spiced up things ahead of the high-octane India vs Pakistan clash in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, by targeting Abhishek Sharma’s technicality and calling the Indian opener as “just a slogger”. The 24-year-old, whose T20 World Cup debut lasted just a ball against United States of America (USA), was absent from India’s win over Namibia after he had to be hospitalized due to a stomach issue.
With captain Suryakumar Yadav revealing that Abhishek might take a game or two to return to full fitness, Abhishek’s availability against Pakistan in Colombo on February 15 is still in doubt. Spicing up the buzz before the marquee clash, Amir questioned the Indian’s technique, method and approach, and stated his chances of failure are high.
“If you ask me honestly, by whatever little I have seen, I feel he is just a slogger. He has to go hard at every ball. The day he gets going, it’s fine; otherwise, his chances of failure are high (The chances of his failure are high),” Amir said on a Pakistani chat show ‘Haarna Mana Hai’.
“He scores once in 8 innings. Otherwise, his scores are 10, 15, 0 and 20. I don’t think he is technically sound. He just stands there and wants all balls to be bowled in a particular area. This is my honest opinion,” added Amir before stating that the day Abhishek gets going, he can hurt the opposition.
“I am also saying the day he gets going, he will score big. He can hurt the other team. But he has a high-risk game. I will consider him a proper batter only when I see that the ball is swinging even slightly and he tackles it well and smashes with the same velocity,” said the left-arm pacer.
Abhishek Sharma’s record against Pakistan
Having been rewarded for his knack of big knocks at the top of the order and fearless approach, the southpaw has so far played in 39 T20Is, scoring 1297 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 194.45. So far, Abhishek has played only thrice against Pakistan, all in the Asia Cup last year.
While he scored 31 in the group outing, the southpaw smashed a 39-ball 74 in the Super 4 clash, thus helping India to a six-wicket win. In fact, Abhishek put on 105 runs for the opening wicket alongside Shubman Gill. Abhishek was dismissed for just five in the Asia Cup final.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who was also present on the show, echoed Amir’s words and went a bit deep in his explanation. “We haven’t seen him play much First-Class cricket, nor in ODIs. Mostly it’s T20Is. His upper portion doesn’t come in front,” Latif said.
“All he does is give himself room. He’s calling him a slogger because he is ready for every ball to swing. If he tries to defend, that’s where he will find the problem. He is successful because that’s all he has worked in,” he added.
