Abhishek Sharma, just take a single first: Sunil Gavaskar's advice to India opener
India Today
T20 World Cup: Sunil Gavaskar offered simple advice to Abhishek Sharma amid his tough start to the T20 World Cup. The former captain urged him to get off the mark first before unleashing his attacking game.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has offered simple but timely advice to Abhishek Sharma as the young opener looks to recover from a difficult start to his T20 World Cup campaign.
Abhishek has endured a slump early in the tournament, including back-to-back ducks, which has put the spotlight firmly on his approach at the top of the order. Speaking to India Today’s sister channel Sports Today, Gavaskar urged the left-hander to focus on the basics first before unleashing his natural attacking game.
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"My unsolicited advice to Abhishek Sharma, just knock a single first. That's it. Then you can start banging after that. But just knock a single, take a quick single where your legs also move quickly and then after that go on," he said in an exclusive interview with Sports Today.
"It is the confidence that one has in oneself. He got a hundred against New Zealand. He is in form and good touch and he is cashing in on that. What is important is that he is not taking good form for granted. A lot of batters do that and look to go bang bang. You can go out of your territory once you are set, and that is exactly what we have seen from him," Sunil Gavaskar said.
Abhishek came into the World Cup with plenty of promise after a breakout run in recent months, but his campaign has been stalled by a combination of illness and poor starts. The 23-year-old missed India’s match against Namibia after being hospitalised with a reported stomach bug and returned for the Pakistan clash in Colombo.
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