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Aakash Chopra believes Abhishek Sharma needs to learn from Sanju Samson if he wants to avoid losing his T20I place to Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Abhishek Sharma.
Aakash Chopra believes the upcoming five T20Is between India and England are opener Abhishek Sharma’s ‘final opportunity’ as Yashasvi Jaiswal is breathing down his throat. Chopra cited the example of Sanju Samson — who scored two centuries against South Africa — to explain how Sharma can seal his place.
Sharma got into the T20I side after a bumper IPL season in 2024. However, though he has shown glimpses of that for India, he has yet to consistently put up substantial scores. After 12 matches, he has 256 runs at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 173.21, with one century against Zimbabwe and another fifty.
“Abhishek’s form has been a little up and down,” Chopra said on Star Sports on the eve of the first T20I at the Eden Gardens. “In the beginning, in his second T20I, he scored a century against Zimbabwe. After that, a lot of promise, and a lot of potential, but not enough performance. So, I think for Abhishek Sharma, this is the final opportunity, and I really love the kid. I think if he does well, it will be a great thing.”
“But these 5 matches—go ahead and live your life. Because in these matches, like Sanju has made his name in the last 3 matches, in the same way, Abhishek Sharma will have to do it. Or else, there will be a little change in time, and Jaiswal will come back.”
Jaiswal’s T20I numbers are better — 723 runs in 23 matches at 36.15, with a strike-rate of 164.31. However, India’s reliance on him in Tests and now a selection for ODI cricket has prevented him from playing the shortest format consistently.
There should be a lot of runs: Aakash Chopra
Zooming out on the series, Chopra predicted a ‘bat vs bat’ contest, with a lot of runs due to the evenness of the two teams.
“It’s going to be a bat-vs-bat contest. Because batting is a heavy weight on both sides. If we look at the clash, it’s not a light-weight clash. It’s a heavy-weight clash, in which, if you hit a six, the other team can hit two. And it’s possible that if the pitch is right, both innings will be equal. The tempo can be set with the first match, and the other team will also look at it from the same perspective,” Chopra said.
“You’re also playing elevens. You’re also worried about batting. That’s why you play two or three proper bowlers; the rest are all-rounders. So, when both teams play the same type of cricket, almost a similar brand of cricket, then there should be a good clash. In my opinion, there should be a lot of runs,” he added.
