India, Feb. 20 -- Abhishek Sharma has had a nightmare of a start to his T20 World Cup career with a hat-trick of ducks. Go further back to his scores in the previous bilateral series and his last seven T20I innings - 0,0,0,30,0,68*,0 - are akin to readings from a volatile bitcoin index.

With their Powerplay intent machine struggling, India's quick-hitting batting strategy will truly be tested in the Super 8 phase. It's not a selection question; the batting tornado's skill sets are matched by none, but the team's messaging to him, going ahead, would be crucial.

"There's been absolutely no discussion," bowling coach Morne Morkel told reporters on Friday. "As you know, Abhishek is a world-class player. Obviously, he would like runs. But we...