Former India captain Anil Kumble believes that more teams would look to have unconventional field placements for Abhishek Sharma after the latter was dismissed early in the T20 World Cup clash against USA. Pointing out that South Africa did the same recently when they played India, Kumble added that teams will need to get Abhishek before he is set, else the batter could take the game away.

Abhishek perished first ball in the 2026 T20 World Cup match against USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, February 7, caught at deep cover off Ali Khan. It has been all or nothing for Abhishek in T20I matches recently. He has been dismissed for a golden duck in three of his last six knocks. In his other three innings, the southpaw has smashed 84 off 35, 68* off 20 and 30 off 16.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Kumble agreed that unorthodox field placements in the powerplay is something more teams could come up with to try and stop Abhishek from going berserk at the start of his innings. He explained:

“Yeah, even South Africa did that. Teams will have to think of various ways to stop Abhishek Sharma because he’s destructive. We’ve seen that. I am sure teams will be looking to do that. Try and keep those positions, which are not the regular things that you would expect teams to look at.

“Extra cover, third man, those two and then bowl wider. Try and see if he does get out early. If you don’t get him out early, he’s one going to hurt you,” the former India leg-spinner added.

Following Abhishek’s early dismissal, India crumbled to 77-6 in 12.4 overs against USA. However, skipper Suryakumar Yadav (84* off 49) played a captain’s knock as the Men in Blue went on to win the game by 29 runs.

“Last thing you want Abhishek Sharma to do is second guess himself” – Varun Aaron

Even though Abhishek has registered three first-ball ducks in his last six T20I innings, former India pacer Varun Aaron reckons that the left-hander should not have second thoughts over his batting mindset. He pointed out that the youngster has achieved the No. 1 rank in the format by backing his instincts. During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Aaron said:

“The reason why Abhishek Sharma is the No. 1 T20 batter in the world, is striking almost close to 200, is because he’s trusted his instincts. The last thing you want Abhishek Sharma to do is second guess himself at the World Cup. I would say Abhishek Sharma shouldn’t think about it.”

In 39 T20I matches (38 innings), Abhishek has scored 1,297 runs at an average of 36.02 and a strike rate of 194.45. The left-handed batter has smashed two hundreds and eight half-centuries in the format.