Team India bowling coach Morne Morkel hinted about their strategy ahead of their Super 8 match with South Africa (IND vs SA). India will face South Africa on February 22 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India has entered into the next phase of the tournament, which will be more competitive than the previous stage, as an undefeated side. In the group stage, the defending champion and co-host of the tournament outclassed the United States, Namibia, archrival Pakistan, and the Netherlands to conclude their group fixtures.
Morne Morkel warned South Africa ahead of Super 8 clash
During the group stage, the Men in Blue displayed a pure team game in every match. Not only the batters, but the bowlers too contributed equally well. When most of the boxes were supposed to be ticked, Abhishek Sharma emerged as the only concern for the team. From health-related issues to run draught, the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 is testing the opener hard.
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Should the Indian team management consider benching Abhishek Sharma 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 hovering around the Indian National cricket team.
Left handed batter are agressive: Morne Morkel
On February 20, when Morne Morkel faced the media persons, he gave such straightforward replies. He shows great faith in the left-handed batters. The former South Africa international said that the southpaws of the team will be turned into the nightmares of all opposing bowlers in the upcoming match.
“The left-handers are aggressive. Bowlers will have sleepless nights running into them. We will find the flow again,” Morne Morkel, the bowling coach of Team India said to the media.
How the left-handed performed in the group stage
There are multiple left-handed batters on the team currently. Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh—these are the regular left-handed batters in the playing XI. Apart from Sharma, the rest of the left-handed batters mentioned above have been contributing significantly well for the team whenever they got opportunities to perform.
Ishan Kishan remains as one of the top performers for the team. The opener scored 20, 61, 77, and 18 against the United States, Namibia, Pakistan, and the Netherlands, respectively. Dube played multiple impactful knocks from the lower end of the batting lineup. But his peak came against the Netherlands when he struck 66.
Though, Tilak Varma has yet to produce his best in the contest. Against the USA, Namibia, and Pakistan, he got 25 on each occasion. Against the Netherlands, he claimed 31. Among the left-handers, Rinku Singh is also among the players who are yet to perform at their full potential.
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