Former Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble has urged Abhishek Sharma to be cautious while adopting his aggressive approach in IPL 2026. Sharma bagged three consecutive ducks in the group stage of T20 World Cup 2026.
Subsequently, he was dismissed for 15 runs off 12 balls against South Africa in the Super 8 stage clash. The left-hander then scored 55 runs off 30 balls against Zimbabwe whereas he bagged another low score of 10 runs against the West Indies.
The southpaw was dismissed for nine runs against England in the semifinal however he scored a crucial knock of 52 runs off 21 balls against New Zealand in the summit clash.
Meanwhile, Abhishek scored 439 runs in 13 matches of IPL 2025 at a blistering strike rate of 193.39.
Anil Kumble said on Star Sports, “It depends on the team he is playing for and his role. He is similar in his mindset to Virender Sehwag. He would look to smash every ball. But even a normal Sehwag would go at a 140 to 150 strike rate. That’s something Abhishek Sharma has to start thinking. If you are already going at a 200 strike rate, expectations can make you ask if you should go at a 300 strike rate. The answer is no. You just have to be normal and play a number of balls.”
He added, “He just needs to fine-tune that in his mind and make those starts count. He shouldn’t be carrying expectations when he is facing a ball. The last thing you should be thinking as the bowler is running in is the need to score a 50 at a certain pace. The best players shut out that noise and focus on what’s coming and what the situation demands. He needs to ensure it’s not just those quickfire 30s and 40s.”
On the other hand, former South African captain AB de Villiers reckons Abhishek Sharma will need to show more discipline in his batting in IPL 2026.
“It comes down to discipline, and he has to be disciplined based on what he is confronted with. He is very lucky in the fact that they have an incredibly strong batting lineup, SRH. He will take a lot of confidence and almost be a bit free because of that,” said De Villiers (via the aforementioned source).
The IPL 2026 season will begin with reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Ahmedabad, on March 28.
