India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel dismissed concerns over Abhishek Sharma’s poor form in the T20 World Cup 2026, backing him to deliver soon. He also admitted India’s dropped catches are worrying as the team heads into the Super Eight stage.
India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has downplayed concerns over opener Abhishek Sharma’s poor form in the T20 World Cup 2026. Despite three ducks in three innings, Morkel insisted there has been no discussion in the team about his struggles and backed the left‑hander to turn things around.
India topped Group A after winning all four matches against the USA, Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands. However, Sharma’s run of low scores has drawn attention, especially after experts tipped him to be among the leading run‑getters before the tournament.
Speaking ahead of India’s Super Eight clash against South Africa in Ahmedabad, Morkel said via Cricbuzz: “Absolutely no discussion in our team group about that. Abhishek is a world‑class player. Luckily, there were guys standing up with Abhishek obviously not scoring the runs he would like. But we’re going through a very important phase of the World Cup now and I’m pretty sure he’s going to deliver.”
Confidence in Abhishek’s ability
Morkel added that Sharma has been striking the ball well in practice and only needs a solid start to regain confidence. “He’s hitting the ball well in the nets. It’s just a matter of getting that start and getting his innings going,” the former South African pacer explained.
Sharma has been dismissed without scoring five times in his last eight innings. Overall, he has played 41 T20Is, scoring 1,297 runs at an average of 34.13 and a strike rate of 192.43, with two centuries and eight fifties.
Fielding remains india’s major concern
While Morkel backed Sharma, he admitted India’s fielding has been below par. The team has dropped catches in almost every group game, though it has not cost them heavily yet. “One thing that we work hard on is our fielding. We know the importance of the catches. Catching is definitely going to play a big part now in the business end of the tournament,” Morkel said.
He stressed that no catch is easy and the players are putting in effort during practice. “Unfortunately, no catch is an easy catch, and the boys are putting the yards in and catching a lot of balls. But that’s definitely one of our key focus points, to really even go for those 50‑50 ones,” he added.
India will face South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe in the Super Eight stage. Having qualified unbeaten, the team carries momentum but must address its batting collapses and fielding lapses to maintain its run.