“You just got to persist with him” – Former India batter defends SRH batter ahead of 2025 IND vs ENG T20I series

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has defended Abhishek Sharma’s inconsistency with the bat over the last few months ahead of the five-match T20I series against England. He believes that the team management should give him a longer rope because he has the potential to become a star batter at the top. He pointed out that Abhishek is a left-arm spinner, which brings in an all-round option for the Men in Blue.

Abhishek scored 97 runs in four innings, including a half-century, during the T20I series in South Africa last year. The left-handed batter averages 23.27 with the bat despite his century in only his second T20I in Zimbabwe. The Punjab batter has amassed 256 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 171.81. He has also bagged three wickets in seven innings at an economy rate of 8.37.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Abhishek smashed 484 runs in 16 innings for the SunRisers Hyderabad at a strike rate of 204.21, including three half-centuries. He also bagged two wickets in four innings.

With his opening partner Sanju Samson smashing three centuries in his last six innings for Team India, Abhishek's performance with the bat has come under the scanner.

Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo:

“I’ve watched Abhishek Sharma, some serious talent there. He’s not one of your part-time bowlers. He’s actually a pretty good left-arm spinner as well. So, when you have conditions like you [India] had in the US and West Indies where you always needed the help of an additional slow bowler. Abhishek Sharma can be a man when two right-handers are batting and he’s in the team for his batting.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator continued:

“I do believe that there’s some serious talent that there’s low scores the kind of cricket that he plays… but he got a 100 and a 50 a strike rate of 200, I guess, against a pretty decent attack in South Africa. So, if the team management believes that he’s somebody they can make him a big star at the top of the order, you just got to persist with him because there’ll be constant competition and threats for a place to be taken by somebody like Yashasvi Jaiswal.

"So, it’s really up to the team management to think that Yashasvi is their mainstay in Test cricket and if they believe Abhishek Sharma is somebody that can be a future and T20 cricket is where you need a little bit of a longer rope,” he added.

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“His comeback is not gonna be easy” – Sanjay Manjrekar warns senior India bowler against England

Sanjay Manjrekar further warned senior India pacer Mohammed Shami about England’s aggressive batting as the speedster is set to make his comeback in the T20I series after 14 months. He, however, credited the 34-year-old for growth in white-ball format. Manjrekar said in the above video:

“There won’t be some easy boys for Mohammed Shami, his comeback is not gonna be easy. I hope he is more than 120 percent fit. When he comes in to bowl, those English batters will be going into him straightaway. There won’t be looking at Shami’s stature as a bowler. It’s a very dangerous batting side with the kind of brand of cricket that they play.”

He continued:

“Shami will have to be up and kicking right from ball number one and let’s not forget Shami is a top-class Test bowler, 50-over cricket as well. T20 bowling, he was at a certain stage of his career, a bit dispensable that isn’t the case anymore. He’s really grown as a white-ball bowler too. Let’s hope for the best.

"I just want Shami fit for the England series (Tests), which is some months away. But if there are signs of that in white ball cricket, he’s ready for that challenge. That resonates and people will remember more I’ll be happy,” he added.

Mohammed Shami was the leading wicket-taker for India (overall as well) at the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. He has been included in India's T20I squad to prepare him for the ODI series against England and the ICC 2025 Champions Trophy.