What makes Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson an irresible batting pair

From the time Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir took over the reins of India’s T20 format, apart from elevating India’s game in this format to the next level, they have backed the right players for the right roles. The T20I squad, barring any injury concerns, picks itself in their current form. Yet, coming into the series against England, all eyes were on what India would do with Abhishek Sharma, especially given the red-hot form of his competitor Yashasvi Jaiswal.
After announcing his arrival with a century in his second match in Zimbabwe, Abhishek’s highest score in the next seven innings was 16. Given the competition for spots, in the past India’s team management has seldom shown patience when it comes to young players coming through the ranks. Considering Jaiswal’s form, there was every reason for India’s think-tank to have been tempted the prospect of pairing him with Sanju Samson.
In the time since Abhishek and Samson have started opening together since the start of the Bangladesh series, their highest partnership remains 73. And the 5.5 overs they stayed together at Johannesburg during that stand remains the longest they have stayed in the middle. Yet, there is a reason why India aren’t willing to break the partnership at the top. Apart from being a left-right combo that makes it harder for bowlers to adjust to the lines, they are contrasting batsmen as well.
Samson, mostly prefers to go in the V, Abhishek is stronger on the square. Samson uses his shoulders more, Abhishek relies more on bat-swing thanks to his top-hand grip. It allows him to slice deliveries, rather than employ the fierce cut like Samson.
Dizzying for bowlers
Such contrasting styles can make it all the more challenging for bowling units to get used to, especially while adjusting to the line as well. It is why India are showing more patience in letting the duo grow as opening partners. Unlike any other openers India had in this format, his biggest USP is his intent.
At the last edition of the IPL, where his performances earned him an India call-up, a striking aspect of Abhishek’s batting was his aggression. Right through the IPL, where Sunrisers Hyderabad ended up as runners-up, more than the 484 runs he scored stood out for his strike-rate, which read 204.22. More importantly, he showed he is a selfless player – a clear departure from the past players. The 28 deliveries he faced in the first two matches were the most he faced in the tournament.
Even if he bats only in the powerplay, he is capable of inflicting enough damage that the middle-order can expose further. “I have always thought, from the start, to be a team player,” Abhishek said at Kolkata where he faced 43 deliveries and scored 79. “In India, there will always be a lot of competition in our senior team. But when Suryakumar and Gautam paaji told me to always keep my intent, that was a big moment for me. (In the sense) that when the team wants me to do that, then I can do it,” he added.
Coming into the series it helped Abhishek that he got a lot of game time in the domestic circuit, where he featured for Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In a power-packed batting line-up, it was Abhishek who time and again fuelled them to huge totals. Behind the scenes, Abhishek has also had the privilege of working with Yuvraj Singh and Brian Lara – two players with gifted bat-swings.
All in the swing
It isn’t surprising that his bat-swing happens to be his biggest strength – the flick of Mark Wood at Eden Gardens being a case in point. When T20s arrived, Yuvraj said it freed him as a batsman, which Abhishek too acknowledges. “I believe I’m very lucky at this. I was working with Yuvi paaji at first. Going forward, I had Brian Lara, who really helped me at SRH. Moving forward, Daniel Vettori was pretty simple, he just wanted everyone to express themselves, and I think that gave me the freedom to play my shots. So obviously, with Yuvraj, Lara and even Gauti bhai right now, they just want me to showcase my talent the way I play and to back myself,” Abhishek said.
So far in the instance where he has opened with Samson, they haven’t really had a big partnership, with just one of them going on to get a substantial score. While it may not look good in the scorebook, it reflects the team’s approach, where both of them have been given freedom to play freely and provide the impetus for the middle-order. And India can’t thank their batting depth enough for it.