Former Indian cricketer Yograj Singh has come down hard on Abhishek Sharma following what was a miserable T20 World Cup 2026 campaign for the southpaw. Barring a 55-run knock in the Super 8 stage and a half-century in the final against New Zealand, the explosive Indian opener largely struggled, putting immense pressure on the rest of the team. Yograj has launched a no-holds barred attack on Sharma, accusing him of not focusing on cricket and being over-reliant on big hits only, and as cautioned him over his approach and discipline.
Sharma has no discipline?
In an exclusive interview with InsideSport, Yograj outlined the need for cricketers to stay disciplined in order to stay away from failure. Yuvraj Singh’s father claimed that it would take ages for Abhishek to get closer to Yuvraj Singh while adding that cricketers often failed in the recent past because their minds were diverted to doing reels, attending parties, having girlfriends.
“It would take him another age to go closer to Yuvraj Singh. The whole universe works on discipline. That’s how cricketers should work. Where are cricketers going wrong? Parties, girls, money, shooting all the time,” Yograj said.
‘Very disgusted’
After registering three consecutive ducks, Abhishek’s only effective contribution came in the Super 8 tie vs ZIM where he scored 55 runs. He finished the tournament with just 141 runs in 8 matches, averaging a miserable 17.62. Yograj made no attempt to disguise his disgust and launched a scathing attack on the opener. He said that hitting sixes wasn’t all that cricket had to offer, and reminded Sharma that there are singles, doubles and playing along the ground as well. Well, Yograj is true to a certain extent as Abhishek’s explosive approach backfired on majority of the occasions in the T20 WC.
“I’m very disgusted with him (Sharma). There are times when I drop him messages – don’t take this game for granted. He will always say ‘yes sir’. There is something called a single, a double and a boundary. Every time you cannot hit the ball in the air. You cannot keep hitting sixes and entertaining the crowd. You will fail,” Yograj revealed.
What should Sharma do to improve?
Yograj reiterated that it was important for cricketers to solely focus on the game and not divert their minds by being active on social media. As he has mentioned multiple times in the past, the former Indian cricketer has stressed for the need to go to bed by 9 PM, wake up by 5 AM and train, and face at least a 1000 deliveries in the nets daily.
“You fail because your mind is somewhere else. What is happening to Shubman Gill, Abhishek? The failure comes only when your mind is diverted somewhere else. That is what is happening with Abhishek. The guys walks around doing reels, that isn’t his job. He should bloody well go to bed at 9 PM and wake up at 5 PM and play a thousand balls,” Yograj added.
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