Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Amid the poor run of form of opener Abhishek Sharma in the T20 World Cup, India captain Suryakumar Yadav on Saturday backed the explosive batter, saying “it’s now our turn to cover for him”.“Abhishek Sharma ki form ki jo chinta kar rahe hain, unki chinta mai kar raha hu. (I am worried for those who are worried about Abhishek Sharma’s form),” Surya said in the pre-match press conference in Ahmedabad.“He covered for us all year, now it’s our turn,” the India captain added ahead of the Super 8 clash against South Africa on Sunday. In the three matches he has played so far in the T20 World Cup, Abhishek Sharma has failed to score a single run and has been dismissed for a duck in all three matches vs USA, Pakistan, and the Netherlands in the group-stage. The prolific opener with a monstrous strike rate of 192-plus is enduring a sudden lean patch, which can primarily be attributed to his return to competitive cricket less than a week after hospitalisation.The slow pitches haven’t helped his cause either.So far, the team’s collective might has successfully ensured that results are not impacted but with the Super Eights set to take off on Saturday, it would be crucial that his bat talks loudly. India take on South Africa on February 22 in their opening match of the stage.Earlier, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel also backed the left-handed batter on Friday and said the left-hander was just one innings away from getting back in the zone.Absolutely no discussion in our team group about that,” said Morkel about Abhishek’s three ducks.“He is a world-class player. We are going to a very important phase of the World Cup now and I am sure he is going to deliver.“I am pretty sure he is hitting the ball in the nets. “It is just a matter of getting the start and getting the innings going.”
