T20 World Cup: Surprised to see Abhishek Sharma playing defensively but he has silenced his critics, says Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar praises Abhishek Sharma's return to form with a half-century, highlighting his learning curve in T20 World Cup.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said he was surprised to see Abhishek Sharma play a defensive stroke, praising the explosive opener for silencing his critics with a timely half-century against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup.

Since returning from a stomach bug, Abhishek looked a distant shadow of his dominating self, registering three ducks in a row.

However, on Thursday, Abhishek snapped the lean patch, scoring a 30-ball 55 in India’s 72-run win over Zimbabwe to signal a return to form.

"We know how good Abhishek Sharma is as a batter. He silenced his doubters with this knock of 55 runs against Zimbabwe,” Gavaskar told JioStar.

“He took that extra time to start his innings. There was a method to his batting. He respected the off spinner, didn’t take any kind of risks and played in a calm and a composed manner.” “In this game, he actually played a defensive shot. He defended the ball. I was surprised to see that because we don't usually see Abhishek do that,” Gavaskar added.

The legendary batter said it has been a learning curve for Abhishek, whose batting exploits are at the forefront of India’s attack.