Young India opener Abhishek Sharma has been under the scanners after an inconsistent start to his international career. The left-handed batter smashed a century in his second T20I, but since then, he has not been able to live up to the expectations. He has not been able to face 12 deliveries in the next six innings. Abhishek, the designated T20I opener for India in recent times, has scored just 166 runs in 9 innings at an underwhelming average of 20.75. The absence of Test regulars Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in the past couple of T20I series is working in Abhishek's favour to get a longer rope in the Indian team.

However, 2007 T20 World Cup-winning star Robin Uthappa is not too much worried about Abhishek's inconsistency at the top of the order. He suggested that Abhishek should get a Virender Sehwag-like license from early 2000s where he was told to enjoy himself in the middle.

"I won’t look for too much consistency with someone like him. I would like to leave him as free as possible, like a Virender Sehwag perhaps in the early 2000s, where people were like ‘just go and enjoy yourself’," Uthappa told Jio Cinema.

In the first T20I against South Africa, Abhishek was dismissed cheaply for just 7 off 8 balls, and the fans started questioning his place in the team after his repeated failure in the last six innings.

‘Wouldn’t worry too much about Abhishek Sharma’s consistency'

Uthappa suggested that Abhishek has a set role in the current Indian team to attack the bowlers right from the start to set a tone.

"Because if it comes, it’s a match-winning hundred or 80, if he gets a quick start, he is still serving the purpose towards the team. So the role is defined. I wouldn’t worry too much about consistency when it comes to Abhishek," he added.

Meanwhile, Abhishek recently hit the jackpot in IPL 2025 retention with an INR 14-crore contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the mega auction. The left-handed batter was one of the key players for SRH last season in their journey to the final. He smashed 484 runs in 16 matches at a staggering strike rate of 204.22.

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