Abhishek Nayar raises concerns over Indian openers' struggle against off-spin in T20 WC

New Delhi [India], February 23 (ANI): Former India cricketer Abhishek Nayar highlighted concerns around India's opening pair following their struggles in the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, particularly against off-spin in the powerplay.
Kishan is India's second-highest run-getter in the ongoing tournament. The wicketkeeper-batter has amassed 176 runs in five matches at an average of 35.20.
The World No. 1 T20I batter, Abhishek, is having a disastrous run with the bat in the T20 World Cup. In four matches, the left-handed batter has scored just 15 runs. Sharma has three ducks to his name in the ongoing marquee event.
Speaking on JioHotstar, Nayar pointed to the lack of clarity and rhythm at the top of the order, referencing Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma.
The former batter explained that off-spinners operating with the new ball can extract variable bounce and subtle deviation, especially when hitting the seam, which makes aggressive stroke play risky in the powerplay overs.
He further cautioned that teams like the West Indies could deploy options such as Roston Chase early in the innings to prepare specific tactical responses.
"It's going to be a very uncomfortable discussion between Ishan Kishan and Abhishek as to who takes the strike because suddenly he has passed the baton of the zeroes to Ishan Kishan, someone who was in prime form. But this is a problem for India. There is definitely going to be a discussion about how they can overcome an off-spinner bowling to them because, keep in mind, when they take on the West Indies as well, Roston Chase is going to bowl in the powerplay to them. So they will want to come back with better plans. With the newer ball, when you hit the seam at times as a finger spinner, you can get that extra bounce, and that's the tricky part. If it's slightly slower in the air, like we saw there, and the ball hits the seam and deviates even a bit, that's enough in T20 cricket to get you out because it creates doubt and can earn you a wicket," Nayar said.
South Africa snapped India's 12-match unbeaten streak at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup as they handed the defending champions a 76-run defeat in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
India's loss of 76 runs against South Africa has tightened their qualification scenarios for the semi-finals. The Men in Blue will have to win the remaining two games with a good net run rate to keep their hopes of defending the T20 World Cup alive.
The Men in Blue will face Zimbabwe in their next Super Eight fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. (ANI)