Earlier this year, during the 2026 T20 World Cup, when Abhishek Sharma was struggling with his form, Mohammad Amir called him a slogger. On multiple occasions, despite India winning the title in that campaign, the former Pakistan fast bowler continued to call the emerging T20 opener a slogger.

Months after calling Abhishek Sharma a slogger, Mohammad Amir visibly took a U-turn to explain his previous comments. In a latest interaction, the 34-year-old has claimed that because of the difference in languages, the meaning of his comments on Abhishek Sharma sounded the wrong way.

Mohammad Amir called Abhishek Sharma a 'slogger'

The 2026 T20 World Cup came with a rare bad patch for Abhishek. In the tournament, the southpaw had to go through a hat-trick of ducks before claiming his first run in the tournament. Amid the batter's bad patch, Amir, his assessor, claimed that whenever the pitches offered something to the bowlers, the Indian batter failed to score runs.

It has been around eight to nine months since Mohammad Amir labelled Abhishek as a slogger. In English, slogger means a batter who tries to swing at every ball. Amir's comment on Abhishek Sharma sparked a widespread controversy at that time, as the left-hander is a designated opener, not a lower-order batter.

Months after the controversial comments, the pacer has issued a clarification on the Indian opener.

"English me usko slogging kehte hai, lekin Urdu me agar aap usko dekho to usko kehte hai chalana. Wo (Abhishek) bohot chalata hai, rukta to hai nahi. Mere kehne ka matlab yahi tha ki wo har ball chalata hai (In English, it is called slogging (reckless batting). But in Urdu, it is called hitting. He hits a lot. He doesn't stop. What I mean to say is that he hits a lot)," Amir told Mr Cricket UAE.

Muhammad Amir explains why he called Abhishek Sharma a slogger. https://t.co/6LujxACbHT

— Sheri. (@CallMeSheri1_) November 6, 2026

Abhishek Sharma reclaimed the No.1 T20I spot for the batters

After reclaiming his form, Abhishek Sharma has recently reclaimed the top spot in the list of T20 international batsmen in the ICC rankings. On October 27 in Wellington, the 26-year-old registered a century against New Zealand for a winning cause.

Riding high on Abhishek's 113-run knock, the Men in Blue claimed a win and the series as well. Before that, during their home T20I series against West Indies, the batter played an explosive fifty-plus-run innings as well.

So far, Abhishek has scored 2268 T20I runs in 71 innings and 72 matches for the Indian cricket team, with an average of 32.86 and an amazing strike rate of 196.36. His T20I batting stats are supported by four centuries and 14 half-centuries. As he is only 26, fans can expect more fireworks in the future from his bat.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Amir has obtained British citizenship, and with his British Citizenship, he has recently joined the newly formed Afghanistan Premier League (APL). In the upcoming season of APL, the pacer is set to feature for the Kandahar Warriors.