The legendary spinner from India feels that the young left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma has great potential and should consider concentrating on his bowling more.
These words were indeed said after the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai show where Abhishek Sharma, with record-breaking brilliance, annihilated the English bowling attack by making the second-fastest T20I hundred for India off just 37 balls in the match against England on Sunday, winning India by 150 runs.
Abhishek literally stormed, smashing 13 sixes, the highest ever by an Indian in T20I innings, and helped India set an imposing 247 for the Englishmen. His rampage sent the visitors into a mindset from which they never recovered, and like sheep, they could only manage to lose all their 10 wickets in 10.3 overs for a measly score of 97, handing India a clean victory.
But according to Harbhajan Singh, who has seen Abhishek grow from a very early stage of his career, the kid batter’s bowling also has so much untapped potential, which could definitely make him a more valuable all-rounder for the team.
While Abhishek has come out as a destructible batter, Harbhajan thinks he could reach greater heights if he puts more focus on his bowling.
He also considers Abhishek’s bowling very high. “I have had the opportunity to see him develop into a cricketer and have always enjoyed watching him bowl. He had an excellent seam position early in his career; however, he is now not putting in enough effort. He gives his batting the preference.”
“This is the thing I tell him every time we meet, even now, that we must first speak about his bowling. Batting is Daddy’s love, and he will keep getting runs, but he should put his effort into bowling as well. He has the makings of a good left-arm spinner.”
Apart from his jaw-dropping batting performances, Abhishek’s bowling too has been on and off. So far, the left-arm spinner has picked up six wickets in T20I, going for just under 6 runs an over in 19 overs.
Whether with bat and ball is in consonance with the approach touted by India under the tutelage of Gautam Gambhir, where the entire focus is on nurturing batsmen who can also bowl.
Abhishek was key to India winning the final five-match T20I series against England, ending as the top run-scorer with 279 runs, nearly doubling Jos Buttler’s score of second place.
His performances exhibited a mix of consistency and explosive power that made him a prominent force to reckon with in faring India onward through the series.
“Abhishek Sharma’s all-around performance in the series was remarkable,” Harbhajan stated. “Not only did he show his batting ability, but he is also capable of being a great weapon with the ball. He just needs to polish it, and sky is the limit for him.”
