‘Lot of potential, but not enough performance’- Aakash Chopra’s ‘last chance’ warning to Abhishek Sharma ahead of England’s T20Is

In India’s five-match T20I series against England, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will bat at the top of the order. For the 20-over leg of the white-ball series, he was picked over the daring Yashasvi Jaiswal. With the exception of his spectacular century against Zimbabwe in his very first T20I innings, Abhishek has performed remarkably poorly in the 11 T20I innings thus far.

Aakash Chopra, a former cricket player who is now a broadcaster, gave the young southpaw a fair warning regarding how he will perform in the forthcoming series. If Abhishek doesn’t perform well against England at home, Chopra thought a change in the starting lineup would be in the works.

“Abhishek’s performance has fluctuated a bit. He first scored a century against Zimbabwe in his second Twenty20 International. After that, there was a lot of potential and promise, but not enough action. Since I like the child, I believe that this is Abhishek Sharma’s last chance. If he succeeds, it will be fantastic, in my opinion. But go ahead and enjoy your life, these five matches. Because Abhishek Sharma will need to perform in these games, just like Sanju has done in the previous three games. Otherwise, time will shift somewhat, and Jaiswal will return,” Chopra said on Star Sports’ Game Plan.

On Suryakumar Yadav, Aakash Chopra said, “It’s going to be difficult once again.”

The former Indian opener also shared his thoughts on the performances of Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of the T20I team. Chopra believed that the most suitable position for the energetic batsman would be Surya batting at one-drop rather than Tilak Varma.

To be honest, it’s a little intriguing for Surya. The T20 statistics for the entire previous year are mediocre at best. As a result, Surya’s runs have been dry lately. He didn’t really stand out, but I believe it’s a little detrimental to bat at number four. Tilak has taken Surya’s place, even though he should be batting at three. He would therefore have to wait because Surya initially has less time to express himself when there are more runs. Therefore, it will be challenging once more,” Chopra continued.

On January 22, 2025, the T20I series will begin at Eden Gardens. Abhishek has not been selected for the three ODIs that will follow the T20Is.