India vs South Africa: The last of Abhishek Sharma in ICT?

The India vs South Africa T20I series, scheduled amidst a busy Test season for India, provided a chance for players like Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma to prove their worth. While Sanju Samson, a seasoned pick who has been on the outskirts of the Indian team, jumped on the opportunity, the young Abhishek Sharma is lagging behind. The blazing opening batter was fast-tracked into the Indian team for the shorter format following a thumping IPL 2024. However, barring a sole century knock in his debut series for India, Abhishek Sharma has failed to emulate his IPL wonders in the international setup. With the young opener consistently fumbling his chances in the blues, the remaining two matches in the series can decide his fate in the national team.

Abhishek Sharma opened his international career with a duck as he took the opening position in the first India vs Zimbabwe fixture. However, the young gun quickly regained his form as he smashed a ton in the next innings he played. The ton, which came at an explosive strike rate of 212.76, presented Abhishek Sharma as a reliable prospect to fire at the top of the order. However, the further outings of Sharma in the format have followed a downward trend. In his next innings for the Indian team, Abhishek Sharma registered the meagre scores of 10, 14, 16, 15, 4, 7, and 4 across the three T20Is against Bangladesh at home and the two matches played so far in the India vs South Africa series.

Now or Never: Abhishek Sharma issued an ultimatum ahead of the 3rd India vs South Africa T20I

Abhishek Sharma joined the team in the absence of mainstays like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who are currently busy in the red-ball proceedings. Their absence provided a chance for Sharma to justify his place in the team. However, with a string of low scores, Sharma’s portfolio has been marred as soon as his international career started. The 24-year-old batter, who can also efficiently spin the ball, is nearing an unfortunate fate where he could be dropped from the Indian T20I plans. The two remaining matches in the India vs South Africa series seem like all that Sharma has left if he wants to keep the doors open to the Indian team.

The youngster, who has managed a 7 and a 4-run stand in the two innings during the India vs South Africa series, is advised to change his approach. Firing right from the start of the innings is what Sharma did when he partnered with Travis Head for SRH during IPL 2024. However, after playing eight innings for India, it is quite apparent that the approach is not helping Sharma at all. Thus, former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra recently stated that Sharma needs to get out of that mindset. Moreover, the commentator also marked the last of the India vs South Africa clashes as a ‘do-or-die’ chance for the batter.

"You are getting out in the first two overs itself, which means you are going too aggressive too soon, which may have worked in the past, but since it is not working now, give yourself a little time because if this time passes, it won't come back," Aakash Chopra said.

The former player further explained that the return of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to the T20I team will make things tricky for Sharma. While Sanju Samson has gained some relevance to his game, becoming the first-ever Indian player to hit two tons in consecutive T20I innings, Sharma’s form will likely lead to him being dropped as soon as Jaiswal and Gill complete their Border Gavaskar Trophy campaign.

"You will then have to wait for the IPL to be good once again because when the next five-match T20I series happens against England, you will not be opening. Shubman (Gill) and Yashasvi (Jaiswal) would become available then, so how will you get a place to open? Sanju (Samson) has already taken one place. So I am saying that it is now do or die, now or never," Chopra explained.

While Abhishek Sharma has been disappointing across the Bangladesh and India vs South Africa series, the youngster was retained by SRH for IPL 2025. Sharma, who turned up as one of the key players for Hyderabad in IPL 2024 when they concluded as the runners-up, was retained by the franchise for 11 crore. However, if Sharma wants to vie for further chances to join the Men in Blue in their future assignments, Abhishek Sharma needs to display a similar prowess to what he showed in IPL 2024.