What is going wrong for Abhishek Sharma in T20Is? Exploring 3 BIG reasons
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Abhishek Sharma failed to score in the Zimbabwe series.
Indian Cricket Team are playing a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. It started on July 23, and the final match is being played on July 26. India sealed the series with two wins in the first two matches of the tour.
Despite the rest to a few T20I regulars, the core unit of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube was still in place. Ishan is currently the top-ranked ICC T20I batter, while Abhishek is stationed second.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stole the limelight with his performances, while the other left-hand explosive opener Sharma failed to go past even 10 runs in this series. He has scored 11 runs in three matches, with 1, 8, and 2 as his scores. He fell to the trap of Blessing Muzarabani in all three games.
Prior to the Zimbabwe series, in England as well, Sharma struggled in the last games of the series, scoring merely 29 runs in three important matches. He has been highly rated in T20Is, but his lack of consistent performances, especially in 2026, are inviting concerns.
3 reasons for the failure of Abhishek Sharma in T20Is recently
3. Not respecting the conditions
Abhishek Sharma has played in Zimbabwe before, in 2024, which was his debut series. Despite being accustomed to the conditions, and the experience that he has gained in two years of T20I cricket, he looked unsettled and underprepared in this series.
He was not respecting the conditions at Harare. All three matches of the series were on the same venue, and Sharma ended up scoring 11 runs in total. In the T20 World Cup 2026 as well, he registered a series of low scores, until his half century in the Final. The lack of consistency and the urgency is affecting his form.
2. Trying to be too aggressive
The left-hander has looked extremely impatient with his shot selection. The last three matches against England were important encounters and series decider matches, but Sharma failed miserably to score runs in those matches.
His explosive nature of the game has been appreciated in the past, but his ultra-aggressiveness has cost the team in crucial fixtures.
1. Getting overshadowed by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi debuted for India in T20Is against England, in the 2nd T20I. He had taken the cricketing world by storm in the IPL 2026 with his extraordinary performances, and was selected in the T20I squad shortly after.
India dropped Sanju Samson to accommodate Sooryavanshi who was sitting on the bench. He got a full series against Zimbabwe and scored 151 runs in three matches, including two half centuries.
There are chances that Abhishek Sharma is feeling overshadowed with the performances of Vaibhav and the limelight that the teenager is getting. This could be affecting Abhishek’s game and mindset in the middle.
There are many openers who have been performing in the IPL and other domestic T20 leagues who are awaiting their chances for India. Abhishek Sharma is also a part of the squad for the Asian Games.
How many runs did Abhishek Sharma score in the Zimbabwe T20I series?
Abhishek Sharma scored 11 runs in the three T20I matches against Zimbabwe.
What is Abhishek Sharma’s rank in the ICC T20I batters’ list?
Abhishek Sharma is currently ranked second in the ICC T20I batters’ list.
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Cricket runs in the blood of Indians — and that’s something she truly believes in. A law student with a lifelong connection to the game, she has followed cricket passionately since his school days. Like countless young fans, she first experienced the sport on the field before deepening his understanding through constant watching, reading, and conversations around the game. Writing became a natural extension of that passion, bringing a “Pavilion Perspective” to his work — capturing how fans experience matches through their own lens.