Abhishek Sharma, on Saturday (July 6), failed to deliver with the bat in his debut game for Team India as he was dismissed for a duck in the ongoing first T20I against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club.
Team India handed debuts to as many as three players for the series-opener. Apart from Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel made their T20I debuts as well. The left-handed batsman earned his maiden call-up from the Indian team after enjoying a stunning campaign in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).
The southpaw established himself as one of the best openers in the IPL this year. He forged a formidable opening stand with Australia’s Travis Head as the duo played a huge role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s runners-up finish. Abhishek Sharma showed remarkable six-hitting ability in the tournament and finished IPL 2024 with most number of sixes.
In 16 games, he smashed 484 runs at a strike-rate of 204.21. He also hit a record 42 sixes in the tournament while no other batter could even touch the 40-sixes mark. Such was his performance in the IPL that there were calls from several quarters to include him in the India squad for the T20 World Cup.
While the selectors did not pick the uncapped batter in the World Cup squad, they did include him in the squad for the ongoing series and gave him the opportunity to showcase his talent in international cricket. Unsurprisingly, all eyes were on Abhishek Sharma as he walked out to open the innings alongside captain Shubman Gill.
With India restricting Zimbabwe to a modest total of 115 runs, Abhishek Sharma had all the time in the world to settle down before bringing out the big shots on his debut. However, the youngster failed to live up to the expectations in his first T20I and was dismissed for a duck by Brian Bennett in the first over. And as Sharma departed for a duck, the fans were quick to take shots at him.
Here are some of the reactions to Abhishek Sharma’s poor show on debut:
There are two ways to make your debut a memorable one
1.Get a 💯
2.Get a Duck 🦆Abhishek Sharma chose the second one.He will never forget his debut score in his entire career. pic.twitter.com/anTmX6EeH7
— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) July 6, 2024
IPL Talent exposed today.
– Top performers like Ruturaj Gaikward, Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh performed badly. Two of them gone for a Golden Duck 🦆 #INDvsZIM #INDvZIM #ZIMvsIND pic.twitter.com/j5jxPs3Kp7
— Ehtisham Siddique (@iMShami_) July 6, 2024
Duck on International Debut ✅️ … Now Abhishek Sharma is Destined For Greatness ⏳️ pic.twitter.com/ouinf2X1cG
— Junaid Khan (@JunaidKhanation) July 6, 2024
Abhishek Sharma on duck
Ruturaj out of 7
Prag 2 off 3
Rinku 0 off 2
India 22-4 while chasing 115 against mighty Zimbabwe.
Welcome to the new era of T20I India.#IndiavZimbabweOnSonyLiv pic.twitter.com/BIFhsievRe— Uzma Naz (@UzmaNaa61412457) July 6, 2024
There were people who wanted to drop Virat and Rohit in WC and open with Abhishek and Rutu
IPL FRAUDSTERS #AbhishekSharma#INDvsZIM— BLACKWOLF (@wohkhahai) July 6, 2024