{"id":885539,"date":"2026-01-16T16:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T22:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/16\/abhishek-sharma-backs-suryakumar-yadav-and-shubman-gill-despite-struggling-in-t20i-series\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T16:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T22:48:00","slug":"abhishek-sharma-backs-suryakumar-yadav-and-shubman-gill-despite-struggling-in-t20i-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/16\/abhishek-sharma-backs-suryakumar-yadav-and-shubman-gill-despite-struggling-in-t20i-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Abhishek Sharma Backs Suryakumar Yadav And Shubman Gill Despite Struggling In T20I Series"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Indian opener Abhishek Sharma has thrown his weight behind out-of-form batters Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill after India\u2019s victory over South Africa in the third T20I, expressing strong belief that the duo will play decisive roles in the ICC T20 World Cup next year and the build-up series before it.<\/p>\n

India took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series with a dominant win, driven by a disciplined bowling performance and an aggressive start at the top. However, India\u2019s leadership pair once again struggled to convert starts into impactful scores.<\/p>\n

Abhishek\u2019s Vote of Confidence in India\u2019s Leadership Duo<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Speaking at the post-match press conference, Abhishek urged patience with both batters, particularly highlighting his long association with Gill from their age-group cricket days. \u201cI\u2019m telling you straight away, trust me, these two guys are going to win us matches in the T20 World Cup and in the series before that,\u201d Abhishek said. \u201cI\u2019ve played with them for a long time, especially Shubman. I know exactly which matches he can win and in what conditions. I have complete trust in him, and I hope everyone will see it very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Numbers Reflect Ongoing Struggles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the backing, recent numbers underline the challenges faced by both players. In 2025, Suryakumar Yadav managed 213 runs in 20 matches (18 innings) at an average of 14.20 and a strike rate of 125.29, with a highest score of 47*. It is the second-worst average in a calendar year (minimum 200 runs) in T20I history and the poorest among batters from Test-playing nations.<\/p>\n

Shubman Gill has fared slightly better but remains short of expectations, scoring 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of over 137, without registering a half-century. Eight of his innings have ended below 20.<\/p>\n

Bowlers Lay the Platform in Dharamsala<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Earlier in the match, South Africa were asked to bat first and never found momentum. Arshdeep Singh (2\/13) and Harshit Rana (2\/34) ripped through the top order during the powerplay, while Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav claimed two wickets each in the middle overs.<\/p>\n

Captain Aiden Markram stood tall with an unbeaten 61 off 46 balls, but lacked support as the Proteas were bowled out for 117 in 20 overs.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s chase began briskly with Abhishek Sharma (35 off 18) and Shubman Gill (28 off 28) stitching together a 60-run opening stand. Although a brief slowdown followed with a few wickets falling, Tilak Varma (25 off 34)* and Shivam Dube (10 off 4)* calmly finished the job.<\/p>\n

India chased down the target in 15.5 overs with seven wickets in hand, underlining their depth and bowling dominance on the night. With the series still alive, Abhishek\u2019s words signal strong backing within the dressing room, even as scrutiny around India\u2019s top-order combinations continues ahead of major tournaments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Indian opener Abhishek Sharma has thrown his weight behind out-of-form batters Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill after India\u2019s victory over South Africa in the third T20I, expressing strong belief that the duo will play decisive roles in the ICC T20 World Cup next year and the build-up series before it. India took a 2-1 lead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":885540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52617,37042],"tags":[52614,93530],"class_list":{"0":"post-885539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-abhishek","8":"category-sharma","9":"tag-abhishek","10":"tag-sharma"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/885540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}