Abhishek Sharma (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: India legend Sunil Gavaskar believes the weight of expectation is behind Abhishek Sharma’s alarming slump in the T20 World Cup, urging the young opener to resist the temptation of instant big shots and instead focus on building his innings patiently.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Abhishek entered the tournament as the world’s top-ranked T20I batter and one of India’s most feared six-hitters, but his campaign has unravelled dramatically with three successive ducks against the USA, Pakistan and the Netherlands.

“Abhishek Sharma is a lovely guy, but expectations seem to be weighing on him,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports. “If he had started well against USA, it would have been different. Now, the pressure of being the big six-hitter and top batter is showing.”According to Gavaskar, the 25-year-old’s aggressive instincts are working against him early in his innings. “With his shot range, he needs to spend time in the middle. He cannot try to hit a boundary or six on the first ball of his innings. If the big shots come, fine. But he shouldn’t force himself to play the big shots across the line.”Instead, the former captain stressed the importance of small beginnings. “Take a single and get off the mark. Even four dot balls don’t matter. He can make up for them later. He needs to play smart at the start. Spend an over or two settling in, then play his natural game.“First, just get off the mark. Every batter wants that first run. Once he gets it, everything will fall into place,” he added.While Abhishek has struggled, Gavaskar was full of praise for all-rounder Shivam Dube, whose explosive 66 powered India to a 17-run win over the Netherlands. “Shivam Dube is very difficult to bowl to because he has a wide range of shots. If he works hard on developing the inside-out shot over extra cover, he will become a really scary batter,” he said.Gavaskar also highlighted the importance of spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who claimed 3 for 14. “When you take wickets, you also take away runs. Clearly, Varun is going to be your key bowler. India will depend a great deal on his four overs,” he noted.