Former Indian chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil has heaped praise on the Indian opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, calling them dangerous batters. However, he expressed concern about them struggling under swinging conditions overseas.
Speaking exclusively on SportsNext, Sandeep reckoned that the duo faced some difficulties while the ball started moving around a little. During India’s T20I tour of England in July 2026, Sooryavanshi scored 42 runs across three matches. Meanwhile, Abhishek also endured a challenging phase, managing 40 runs in five innings before the Afghanistan series.
“There is one thing I would like to say about their batting. Due respect to Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, we have seen that when they travelled outside India and the ball started moving around a little, they faced some difficulties. These two young players will also have to pay attention to that aspect and work on it. Lion at home and cat overseas. This shouldn’t happen,” Sandeep Patil told SportsNext.
However, Abhishek finished the Afghanistan T20I series in Delhi as the Player of the Series and the highest run-scorer, accumulating 229 runs across three innings at a stellar average of 76.33.
“I wasn’t surprised. Abhishek scored a century, and the Indian team scored 100 runs in six overs. I don’t know whether this is the first or last time it will happen, or when we’ll see it happen again. But you have to give them credit. You know, these young players in modern-day cricket have been given a license to kill, and they are using it absolutely the right way. Whether it’s Abhishek or Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, I would say it’s remarkable,” he said.
“They have tremendous power, quality, and skill, and they are making the right use of those skills. They don’t hold back. We always used to say, ‘Don’t play half-heartedly.’ They play with full commitment and go for their shots from the very first ball. You have to call it remarkable,” he concluded.
