Team India Caught Hiding Abhishek Sharma's Injury, Indian Opener Cuts Hand

Abhishek Sharma [Source: AFP]

In an unfortunate turn of events, Abhishek Sharma has been going through a very difficult phase in the T20 World Cup. However, a fresh update has now revealed that the Indian opener was actually injured just before the start of the T20 World Cup 2026.

According to sports journalist Vaibhav Bhola, the incident happened during the Indian team’s official photoshoot. He revealed that Abhishek’s hand got cut during the photoshoot session. As a result, he needed stitches but still went on to play India’s first match with the injury.

Therefore, it later became clear that he was not fully fit at the beginning of the tournament, even though he still took the field.

New update on Abhishek Sharma

Vaibhav Bhola 🇮🇳

@VibhuBhola

📍 Big Breaking News 📍 Abhishek Sharma Got Injured Right Before Start Of T20 World Cup. During Team Photoshoot His Hand Got Cut, And He Played First Match With Injury. He Got Some Stitches Or Played With Switcher. Is This The Reason For His Downfall ?

Feb 23, 2026, 12:16 PM

As a result of the hand injury, things did not go well for Abhishek Sharma right from the opening game. In fact, he had a shaky start and was dismissed for a golden duck in India’s first T20 World Cup match against the United States.

Abhishek Sharma struggle continues in T20 World Cup 2026

Notably, after the USA match, another health issue also came to light. It was revealed that Abhishek was suffering from a stomach infection. He did not come out to field during the USA’s run chase, and afterwards he was taken to the hospital for treatment. Consequently, his fitness became a serious concern for Team India.

Due to his illness, Abhishek Sharma was not included in India’s playing XI for the next match against the Namibia. Instead, Sanju Samson opened the innings along with Ishan Kishan.

Meanwhile, the tournament has been extremely tough for Abhishek so far. Although he is known for fearless batting and aggressive stroke-play in the powerplay overs, he has struggled badly in this T20 World Cup. Before the Super 8 match against the South Africa, he had already recorded three ducks in a row.

On Sunday night, he finally managed to get off the mark and even hit his first boundary of the tournament. However, his innings did not last long. He scored only 15 runs and never looked completely comfortable at the crease.

Therefore, his poor form has raised concerns within the Indian camp. Notably, Abhishek is currently ranked the world No. 1 T20I batter, which makes his struggles even more worrying.

Sunil Gavaskar explains Abhishek Sharma’s loss of form

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also spoke about Abhishek’s form. He explained that Abhishek is lacking fluency and confidence in his batting right now.

"The fluency is not there at the moment. In the nets, you know you'll face the next ball even if you get out on the first. But in a match, it's a completely different story," Gavaskar told Star Sports after India's loss.

India’s heavy loss to South Africa

Talking about the match itself, India’s chances of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals suffered a huge blow after the Suryakumar Yadav-led side lost by 76 runs to South Africa in Ahmedabad. Batting first, South Africa scored 187/7, with David Miller making 63 and Dewald Brevis scoring 45. For India, Jasprit Bumrah was the standout bowler with figures of 3/15.

However, in reply, India never looked in control of the chase and were bowled out for just 111. Marco Jansen was the chief destroyer with four wickets. As a result, India’s semifinal hopes became uncertain.