Harbhajan hits back at Amir’s ‘Abhishek is just a slogger’ comment

Bangla Press Desk: Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh took a swipe at Mohammad Amir after the Pakistan pacer claimed Indian batter Abhishek Sharma is “just a slogger”.

Abhishek has made a great start to his international career since his T20I bow in 2024. In 38 innings, he has smashed 1297 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 194.45 and is currently the number one ranked batter in the 20-over rankings.

Pakistan has also bore the brunt of Abhishek’s mesmerising strokeplay as the left-hander hammered 110 runs against them in last year’s Asia Cup, at an amazing strike rate of 189.56 in three matches. In total, the southpaw blasted 11 fours and seven sixes against their arch-rivals and registered a 39-ball 74 in a Super Four match in Dubai.

Even then, left-arm paceman Amir was not ready to rate Abhishek, calling him “one-dimensional”.

“As far as I have seen, to be very honest, it seemed to me that he is just a slogger. I don’t think his technique is sound. He just stands in one position, and wants every ball to be delivered in his zone so that he can hit out. When I see him negotiating movement or a swinging delivery, only then would I call him a real batsman,” said Amir in a Pakistani talk-show.

On the eve of the blockbuster India-Pakistan clash in Colombo on Sunday, Harbhajan has come out in support of the 25-year old Abhishek while speaking to an Youtube channel.

“What can I say to this? After waking up from sleep, he (Amir) is just saying whatever he wants. If Abhishek is indeed a slogger, then okay, let him hit sixes. But in truth Abhishek is a proper batter, he can play all shots. He knows which shot to play and when. He can play shots over cover, towards point, long on, long off, midwicket. He has all shots in his repertoire. So you cannot call him a slogger,” said Harbhajan.

“If I call out some real sloggers, some people might start to feel sad. But I don’t want to create controversy. Even then I’d say calling someone a slogger is unfair. Abhishek is a top-class batsman who has proven himself in international cricket,” he added.

“Just wait and see what happens on Sunday. When Abhishek is at the crease he will show everyone what he is made of. If Abhishek scores significant runs on Sunday, he will be a nightmare for Pakistan in the next six months,” he concluded.

.Source: daily Sun

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