Former Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Amir has explained why he called Indian opener Abhishek Sharma a “slogger” during the T20 World Cup 2026.
He clarified his remarks in a recent conversation with Indian journalist Anish Sajan.
Sajan asked Amir why he used the word about Sharma on such a big channel. Amir said that people misunderstood him and that the word means something different in Urdu.
“Slogging ko English mein toh slogging hi kehte hain, lekin Urdu mein agar aap usko dekho to usko kehte hain chalana, kyunki woh har ball chalata hai, rokta toh woh hai nahi [In English it is called slogging, but in Urdu it is called ‘chalana’, because he swings at every ball and does not hold back],” Amir said.
“Log usko galat le gaye. Mera matlab hai har ball chalata hai, aise players ka risk zyada hota hai [People took it the wrong way. I mean he swings at every ball, and the risk is higher with such players],” he added.
Amir made the comment on a TV show ahead of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against Pakistan. He said Sharma looked like a slogger to him.
“From what I have seen of him so far, in my opinion, if I’m being completely honest, he looks like a slogger to me. He just tries to hit every ball. If it connects, it connects. But most of the time, the chances of failure are higher,” Amir said.
He pointed to Sharma’s record as evidence of the technical limitations. “You must have noticed that he might play eight innings and score in only one of them, while in the others he gets 10, 15, 0, 20,” Amir said. He also said Sharma can hurt any team on his day but struggles against a good slower ball.
Sharma then failed to score in three straight innings at the tournament. He was dismissed for a duck against the USA and again against Pakistan. He completed a hat-trick of ducks against the Netherlands in India’s final group-stage match on Wednesday.
Indian fans then began agreeing with Amir’s assessment.
