NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has defended young India batter Abhishek Sharma after former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir labelled him “just a slogger” during the T20 World Cup. Amir’s remark came after Abhishek was dismissed for three consecutive ducks in the group stage, questioning his technique and suggesting he lacked a defensive game.
However, Abhishek answered critics in style during India’s Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, smashing 55 runs off just 30 balls as India piled up 256/4. His aggressive knock helped shift the narrative around his tournament.Responding to Amir’s comments on his YouTube channel, Ashwin strongly disagreed. “There is a video of Mohammad Amir doing the rounds, where he called Abhishek Sharma a slogger. I just want to make one thing clear: you can say anything about his game, but he is not a slogger. He has one of the most enviable bat swings in the game today. We all know Yuvraj Singh is his mentor,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.“He has probably got a better bat swing than him as well. You cannot get a better bat swing than that. Whenever Abhishek strikes the ball, it goes very far. So people can mistake him for being a slogger. The one thing Abhishek has been guilty of is showing intent on every ball.”After the knock on Thursday, Abhishek also admitted he had been waiting for such a performance. “It’s always great when you contribute to the team, and I was waiting for this moment for quite a long time now, so finally it’s happening. I’m really happy… I just wanted to spend some time at the pitch,” he said.He also praised the team’s support. “You have done this before as well, and your time is not so far. You just keep believing,” he revealed teammates had told him.
