Sunil Gavaskar loses patience with Abhishek Sharma, tells Gambhir to drop him for final: ‘He hasn’t learned'

His numbers would have been all the more appalling had he not scored a half-century against Zimbabwe in the Super 8s. He has been dismissed for a duck on three occasions in the tournament, while he has lost his wicket to spinners four times in the T20 World Cup.

Abhishek has also not been willing to take a backward step and bide his time in the middle, going after the bowling right from the start and losing his wicket in the process. In the semi-final, the left-hander fell right into the trap and gave away his wicket to England spinner Will Jacks in just the second over, walking back to the hut after scoring just 9 runs.

"Bowlers are targeting that area and forcing mistakes. My concern is that he either hasn't adjusted yet or is unable to change his approach," he added.

"I would like to see Ishan Kishan open the batting with Sanju Samson, with Rinku Singh coming into the side. Rinku has that belief, you've probably seen the 'God's Plan' tattoo on his body, and sometimes things just work out for players like him," Gavaskar said.

Apart from Abhishek, the Indian management would also need to take a call on Varun Chakaravarthy, who has lost form since the start of the Super 8s stage. The spinner leaked more than 60 runs in his quota of four overs against England in the semi-final, and it remains to be seen whether the management brings in Kuldeep Yadav into the side in his place.

"The other change I would consider is bringing in Kuldeep Yadav. Varun Chakravarthy's confidence looks shattered at the moment. Since the Super Eight stage, when he faced stronger teams, he has struggled and conceded a lot of runs. At a ground like the Narendra Modi Stadium, with big boundaries, Kuldeep Yadav could be a good option because he can turn the ball even on flat surfaces," Gavaskar said.

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