T20 World Cup 2026: Star Australia cricketer guides Abhishek Sharma to bounce back ahead of semi-final against England, says, ‘The skills don’t…’

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting offers guidance to Abhishek Sharma amid his lean patch ahead of India's T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against England.

T20 World Cup 2026: India’s star opener Abhishek Sharma, who currently holds the top spot in ICC T20I batting rankings, is going through a lean patch as the runs have been hard to come at the top of the order in the T20 World Cup 2026.

The 25-year-old left-hander did show little improvement with a half-century in the must-win match against Zimbabwe in the Super 8s, but he struggled against the West Indies in the virtual quarterfinal as he was dismissed after scoring juts 10 runs. He once again, fell to spin, giving a straightforward catch to Shimron Hetmyer off Akeal Hosein’s bowling.

Abhishek Sharma’s stat in the tournament so far

Looking at his stats in the tournament Abhishek has managed to score just 80 runs across six games so far. He also registered an unwanted record of three consecutive duck during the group stage against the USA, Pakistan and the Netherlands.

Amid his disappointing form, Australia’s legendary cricketer Ricky Ponting shared guidance to Abhishek ahead of the second semi-final between India and England which will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, March 5.

Ponting has urged Abhishek to relax and reset mentally in the days leading up to India’s semi-final against England at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. “Sometimes, when you’re going through a bit of a slump like that, it’s not always best just to go into the nets every day and bat for an hour and a half. Sometimes it’s better off to let these guys just have a couple of days away, like mentally freshen up. The skills don’t go anywhere. You don’t lose your skills,” Ponting noted.

“But in a tournament like this, when you’re consistently and constantly under pressure, and the results aren’t coming, sometimes just leaving your bag zipped up, turning up the training, getting a little bit of bowling done, getting your fielding done, but not actually batting and almost starving yourself of going back into the nets,” he added.

Ponting expressed confidence in Abhishek Sharma

The former Australian captain, expressed confidence in Abhishek, stating that the team management led by Gautam Gambhir should stick with the left-hander, given his strong record against England.

In January last year, Abhishek Sharma scored a century against England in the fifth and final T20I at the Wankhede Stadium, giving him some positive memories to draw on. However, Ponting noted that if the team management decides to rest Abhishek, Rinku Singh could return to the playing XI, while Ishan Kishan opening alongside Sanju Samson.

“I think Abhishek’s got something up his sleeve for the semi-final,” said Ponting.

“We know on his day, he’s an out-and-out match-winner. But that’s the hard thing with this Indian side as well. And if you were to leave him out and you bring Rinku in, then you’ve got another match-winner coming into your side as well.” he added.

For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/