Team India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel gave an indication about his strategy before the Super 8 match with South Africa (IND vs SA). India will face South Africa on 22 February at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India have entered the next phase of the tournament as an undefeated team, which will be more competitive than the previous phase. In the group stage, the defending champions and tournament co-hosts finished their group fixtures by defeating the United States, Namibia, arch-rivals Pakistan and the Netherlands.
Morne Morkel warns South Africa before Super 8 match
During the group stage, the Men in Blue displayed pure team play in every match. Not only the batsmen, but the bowlers also contributed equally well. While most of the boxes had to be ticked, Abhishek Sharma emerged as the only concern for the team. From health issues to run draft, the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 is putting the opener through a tough test.
Should the Indian team management consider keeping Abhishek Sharma on the bench in the next match, which is against South Africa? And what will be Gautam Gambhir’s strategy to continue the winning streak? These are some of the questions that are hovering around the Indian national cricket team.
Left-handed batsmen are aggressive: Morne Morkel
When Morne Morkel came face to face with media persons on February 20, he gave similar blunt answers. He shows a lot of confidence in left-handed batsmen. The former South African international player said that the team’s left-handed batsman will turn into a nightmare for all the opposition bowlers in the upcoming match.
Team India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel told the media, “Left-handed batsmen are aggressive. Bowlers will have sleepless nights. We will find the flow again.”
How did the left-hander perform in the group stage?
At present there are many left-handed batsmen in the team. Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Verma, Shivam Dubey and Rinku Singh – these are the regular left-handed batsmen in the playing eleven. Apart from Sharma, the rest of the left-handed batsmen mentioned above have made significant contributions to the team whenever they got a chance to perform.
Ishan Kishan continues to be one of the top performers for the team. The opener scored 20, 61, 77 and 18 against the United States, Namibia, Pakistan and Netherlands respectively. Dubey played several impressive innings from the lower end of the batting lineup. But his peak came against Netherlands when he scored 66 runs.
However, Tilak Verma has not yet given his best performance in the competition. Against the United States, Namibia and Pakistan, he got 25 on each occasion. He scored 31 runs against Netherlands. Among left-handed batsmen, Rinku Singh is also among those players who have not been able to perform to their full potential yet.
Read more: Will out of form Abhishek Sharma be removed in place of Sanju Samson? Indian coach gave big information before the match against South Africa