Abhishek Sharma’s 2026 T20 World Cup campaign had a bit of everything. He came into the tournament on the back of some red-hot form and then but a stomach infection that landed him in the hospital early in the tournament wreaked havoc on his performances in the next few games. Abhishek ended up not scoring a single run in the group stage and got scores of 15, 55, 10 and nine in the Super Eights and semifinal. However, Abhishek then played a crucial role in India’s win in the final by scoring 52 in 21 balls as part of a 98-run opening stand with Sanju Samson that came in just 7.1 overs. Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin has said that Abhishek is the kind of player you want in the big moments.
“I’m a huge fan of Abhishek, and there was a lot of talk about his position throughout the tournament,” Haddin, who was an integral part of Australia’s 2015 World Cup-winning squad, said on the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast. “Got a few ducks in a row in the pool games, and all of a sudden, you think he is under pressure, but there are the guys you want in the big moments, because they are rascals and they walk into the fire. That is what Abhishek does, he puts pressure on the opposition, and the way that he went out in that final set up the game.”
India beat New Zealand by 96 runs to become the first team to succesfully defend their men’s T20 World Cup title. In the process, they also became the most succesfull team in the history of the tournament, overtaking the two titles won by England and the West Indies.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav later told The Indian Express that he had given Abhishek a guarantee before the start of the tournament that he would be opening the batting in the final if India get theire regardless of his scores before that. “That’s his identity as a player — when he bats for six or eight overs, he finishes games. I told him once: there are nine games in this World Cup, even if you fail in eight of them, score zero in all eight — I am giving you the guarantee that you will face the first ball in the final. Such players change games when they bat. I knew a day would come where he would finish it off,” said Suryakumar.
“In the final, Axar sat next to me and said: we have two world No. 1 players in this team and they will fire today. Abhishek was working so hard, and in the final he scored 50 off 18 balls. Six overs, 90 runs. From there the game was completely different. It’s very important to persist with such players.”