'Should Not Be Demoralised': Harbhajan Singh Backs India Opener To Bounce Back Amid T20 World Cup 2026 Struggles

India registered a dominant 61-run win against Pakistan on February 15, 2026, at the R Premadas Stadium, Colombo. Ishan Kishan's brilliant 40-ball 77-run knock and impactful cameos from Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav helped India post a total of 175 runs, which Pakistan failed to chase as the Men in Blue bowled them out by the 18th over.

While Ishan Kishan shone in the match, star batter Abhishek Sharma failed to make an impact. Despite all the anticipation of his return, the player had a disappointing evening in Colombo as he was dismissed for a four-ball duck. Notably, Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a duck in India's T20 World Cup opening match against USA.

Following the match, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh backed Abhishek Sharma to bounce back from this slump. Additionally, the former player urged the young player not to get demotivated because of poor performance in the last two games.

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Harbhajan Singh Backs Abhishek Sharma Amid His Batting Struggles

While speaking in his YouTube video, Harbhajan Singh urged the player to believe in himself and not get demoralised. Additionally, he reminded critics of his past performance and shared that the youngster will be back in form in no time.

Harbhajan Singh shared, "Abhishek Sharma is a strong player; he should not be demoralised. He was breaking the backs of everyone just a couple of months back, and that time will come again. He should believe in himself. He should learn from these two matches and move forward."

He further added, "We are all with you, the team is with you, the management is with you, the whole nation is with you. We have full faith in Abhishek. He is going to come good in this tournament when Team India needs him the most."

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India Will Play Netherlands Next

India will conclude their group stage matches with a clash against the Netherlands on February 18, 2026, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. With successive wins so far in the campaign, the Men inBlue have secured their spot in the Super 8.