India is set to take on South Africa for a 4-match T20I series. And former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has claimed it is now a do-or-die scenario for Abhishek Sharma. Chopra explained that now Abhishek Sharma needs to fire on all cylinders if he wants to retain his place in the India Team.
The dynamics are pretty simple. Once Yashasvi Jaiswal walks back into the India Cricket Team T20I squad, Abhishek Sharma will have to take a backseat. The only way in which he can contest for his spot is to perform and add runs under his belt. As for the series against the Proteas, the southpaw is slated to open India’s innings with Sanju Samson.
Perform or Perish
“It’s do or die for Abhishek Sharma because after this when the England T20I series will be played at home, you will definitely be dropped if you don’t score runs here,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are not a part of India’s T20I squad for South Africa. The duo are currently preparing and is all ready to set travel to Australia for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy.
“I love Abhishek to bits. I find him a very good player. He also scored a hundred in Zimbabwe but after that hundred until now there has been no such performance which you would see and say that Abhishek Sharma will have to be kept,” Chopra added.
Abhishek Sharma has featured on the India Cricket Team in 8 T20I matches after his incredible performance in IPL 2024. The Southpaw has gone on to score 159 runs from 7 innings. This is a bit poor given he has a 124-run knock against Zimbabwe. With an average of 22.71, Abhishek Sharma needs some big innings to retain his place in the team.