‘Blind slogger’: Angry Indian cricket fans slam Abhishek Sharma as he gets out for another duck | IND vs PAK

Pakistan captain Salman AlAgha's decision to open the bowling in the T20 World Cup 2026 led to the dismissal of India's Abhishek Sharma for a duck, marking his second consecutive duck in the tournament.

Sounak Mukhopadhyay
Updated15 Feb 2026, 07:41 PM IST
Out of Syllabus: Social media reacts as Abhishek Sharma gets out for another duck | IND vs PAK REUTERS/Lahiru Harshana
Out of Syllabus: Social media reacts as Abhishek Sharma gets out for another duck | IND vs PAK REUTERS/Lahiru Harshana(REUTERS/Lahiru Harshana)

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha pulled out a ‘masterstroke’ as he decided to open the bowling in the India-Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup 2026 on 15 February. He dismissed Abhishek Sharma for a duck.

Abhishek Sharma is yet to score in the T20 World Cup 2026. In India’s first game against the USA, he was dismissed for a duck as well. He did not play in the last match, against Namibia, due to injury.

Also Read | IND vs PAK T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE: Abhishek Sharma departs for duck

Social media reacted to the dismissal of India’s destructive opening batter.

“Salman Ali Agha gets Abhishek Sharma. Out of Syllabus,” wrote one user.

“Abhishek Sharma has failed to open his account in this WC so far. Two ducks,” posted another.

Also Read | India opener Abhishek Sharma discharged from hospital ahead of Namibia match

One user commented, “I love Abhishekh Sharma & he has brought me great joy as an SRH fan even before he played for India, but we HAVE to talk about him being a huge risk during critical matches like Ind vs Pakistan cuz there is a more than average chance of him being duck out.”

One user wrote, “Na man this Abhishek Sharma guy was fooling masses with his slogging. Now he's getting exposed on big stage. Hope Surya has something today.”

“Abhishek Sharma just tries to force everything. There was no need. Esp in a match of this magnitude. And this branding is only detrimental to his chances of ever playing a test match,” came from another.

Another user wrote, “Abhishek Sharma is a fraud cricketer blind slogger gets caught against good teams. No batting skill, No Gaming sense, Not playing according to the situation, just blind slogging, Place in the team is due to relationship with Gautam Gambhir. Plz drop him from T20i team.”

“Abhishek Sharma made sure that India won't miss the presence of Rohit Sharma tonight,” came from one Indian cricket fan.

Mohammad Amir on Abhishek Sharma

Ahead of the IND-PAK match on 15 February, former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir earlier criticised Abhishek Sharma’s batting style. Speaking on a television show, Amir described Abhishek as a “slogger”, relying on high-risk hitting rather than strong technique.

According to Amir, Abhishek succeeds only occasionally and often scores low runs. He questioned his consistency and technical ability.

Also Read | ‘Don’t think he is technically sound’ - Amir's sharp aim at Abhishek

Amir suggested that bowling short deliveries at the body would be the best way to dismiss the Indian opener. He added that Abhishek should be considered a complete batter only when he could handle swinging deliveries with confidence.

"If you ask me honestly, I feel he is just a slogger. He has to go hard at every ball. The day he gets going, it's fine; otherwise, uske failure ke chances zyaada hain (The chances of his failure are quite high),” he said.

"He just stands there and wants all balls to be bowled in a particular area. This is my honest opinion,” he added.

At the same time, Amir admitted Abhishek could be difficult to control when he got going.

“The day he gets going, he scores big. He can hurt the other team. But, he has a high-risk game. I will consider him a proper batter only when I see that the ball is swinging even slightly and he tackles it well and smashes with the same velocity," Amir said.

About the Author

Sounak, spinning the digital news scene since 2012, crafts trendy articles for LiveMint. He has previously worked with Moneycontrol, International Bu...Read More

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