Mohammad Amir advised Abhishek Sharma to avoid planning his shots ahead of time. Instead, he suggested playing based on the ball’s line and length. Amir’s comments came after India’s challenging defeat to South Africa in their first Super 8 game of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The match took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22. India was chasing a target of 188 runs but lost Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma within the first seven balls. Abhishek, who had not scored a run in his previous three matches, was under pressure to perform.
The Punjab batter made an immediate impact with a boundary off Aiden Markram’s first delivery. He then hit a smart six off Kagiso Rabada. However, his innings ended at just 15 runs from 12 balls when he attempted a big shot against Marco Jansen, resulting in a catch by Corbin Bosch.
On a TV show in Pakistan, the host reminded Amir of his earlier comments about Abhishek, where he referred to the highly ranked T20I batter as a “slogger.”
“Amir bhai, you got Abhishek Sharma out four times by sitting here in Lahore,” the host said.
In response, the former Pakistan fast bowler defended Abhishek while clarifying his previous remarks.
“I was referring to him as a bowler. Good bowlers and teams can take advantage of his weaknesses. The 14 runs he scored against South Africa were on one side of the wicket, and even the deliveries weren’t great,” Amir explained.
