India’s Abhishek Sharma during a practice session before an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 cricket match between India and South Africa, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, on February 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel stressed that there had been no discussion about Abhishek Sharma’s wretched run in the T20 World Cup so far.
Abhishek is yet to open his account in the tournament, and during Friday’s (February 20, 2026) training, the opener was seen spending considerable time with head coach Gautam Gambhir. The southpaw, who has been dismissed for a duck thrice, could face another big test when India takes on South Africa in its first Super Eight match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (February 22, 2026).
When asked if there has been talk within the team about Abhishek’s poor form, Morkel denied emphatically.
“Absolutely, no discussion. He is a world-class player. So far in the tournament, luckily, there have been some guys standing up for Abhishek (others scoring runs),” Morkel said.
Morkel, however, agreed that Abhishek needs to score runs as the tournament enters its business end. “But we are going through a very important phase of the World Cup now and we expect him to do well. I am pretty sure, not only for the team but also for all the viewers watching the game.
“Because Abhishek is entertaining, and we love to see that.
“I am sure that he is hitting the ball well. It is just a matter of getting that start; he will get going after that,” Morkel said.
The pitches in Mumbai and Ahmedabad have raised eyebrows, but Morkel was sympathetic towards the curators, saying that they had provided strips to the best of their abilities.
“Credit to the curators for producing pitches that are 200-plus surfaces so late in the season. It is a nightmare. There is a lot of pressure on those guys. They put a lot of hard work into giving us the best surface that they can possibly prepare.”
The coach was unsure if the pitches are tiring because of overuse during the domestic season.
“So far this tournament, we have done really well with batting and bowling. Bar the one game, the first game, it was not a 200-plus surface.
“It was maybe a 170-run surface, and we went a little bit too hard at the start. But again, that was the learning. So there have been learnings from every match so far, and I think that it is the beauty about this game,” Morkel said.
Published – February 21, 2026 05:40 am IST
