Morkel backs Abhishek Sharma, calls dew a ‘concern’:Curran makes Cummins-like promise, says Wankhede will be ‘quiet’

Team India bowling coach Morne Morkel backed struggling Abhishek Sharma to find his form in the semifinal against England. The no 1 ranked T20I batter has struggled to make an impact at the T20 World Cup, scoring just 80 runs in six matches with just one half-century. India and England will meet in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 5 March. This will be the third consecutive T20 World Cup where India and England will meet in a semifinal, with the winners of the previous two matches crowning the champions. Morne Morkel’s advice for Abhishek Sharma- ‘Start from zero’ Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Morkel came out in support of Abhishek, who has been at the receiving end of criticism for his poor form. Abhishek will get the opportunity to play at a venue where he scored a 54-ball 135 against England last year. That remains the highest T20I score by an Indian. “I think just sometimes this game can be hard on you, cruel on you. A similar situation that Sanju found himself in. In your career, you are going to find moments like this. And this is good growth for him, it is good learning for him. For a young sort of guy finding his feet in international cricket, this will only help him down the line in Indian cricket,” Morkel said. But the South African backed Abhishek to return to form, saying that the explosive left-hander is “one or two shots” away from finding his rhythm back. He also said that Abhishek should revisit his feel-good moments and begin from scratch. “He is not a guy who worries too much about technique. Normally, those sorts of players take a lot more time to get into confidence. So like I said, it is a fresh page for him tomorrow. Opportunity to go and do well. Scored a hundred here against England not too long ago. For him, it is just tapping into those little videos and looking at his feel-good moments and building a blueprint and knowing he is starting on zero tomorrow. It is a new opportunity for him,” the ex-Proteas pacer added. ‘Dew will be a big concern’ says Morne Morkel The Team India bowling coach also highlighted the potential role of dew, stating that it would be a ‘big concern.’ To counter dew, a special chemical has been sprayed on the fields in this T20 World Cup so far. “I think dew is always a big concern. But that’s again something you can’t control: the toss. I think at Wankhede there’s always that extra bit of bounce. Guys can trust the bounce and lead through the line that can also, as a bowler, bring you into the game. I just felt or feel that the margins here are a lot smaller. The ball travels; it’s quite a small ground,” he said. Morkel also backed no 1 ranked T20I spinner Varun Chakaravarthy to find his rhythm. The mystery spinner has been far from his best in the Super 8 and will need to be at his very best against England. Calling him a matchwinner, Morkel said that Varun wants to step up and perform every time and that puts pressure on himself. “I think he’s a highly skilful guy, hard to pick once you walk into the crease. So for him it’s just about getting that confidence with the ball, getting his speed, his length, control right, and not trying to overthink it,” he said, adding, “I think with Varun at times, to his credit, he wants to be a big performer for the team. So he will put a little bit of pressure on himself. But he’s a match-winner for us, and for him it’s just to stay and bowl every ball and make sure it’s his best ball,” he said.
‘Guilty of giving away maybe 15-20 runs in the field’, Morkel on India’s fielding Morkel also spoke on India’s poor fielding in the tournament. Against West Indies, Abhishek also dropped two catches which once again highlighted India’s poor effort on the field. India have a catching efficiency of 71.7%, the worst among the Super 8 teams in this tournament. The Men in Blue have dropped a total of 13 catches so far in this edition, the most by a team. “Obviously, fielding is something that we speak about a lot. I think at times we’re guilty; we’re giving away maybe 15-20 runs in the field. That’s one aspect that we keep on working on and asking the guys to really step up on. If we can get the right players in those positions, hopefully we can take the catches,” Morkel said.

Sam Curran makes Pat Cummins-like promise Meanwhile, England all-rounder Sam Curran made a bold statement, saying that the Wankhede crowd would be quiet on Thursday night during the semifinal against India. Curran took a page out Pat Cummins’ playbook, with the Australian captain earlier making a similar statement for the Ahmedabad crowd before the 2023 ODI World Cup final. “It’s a fantastic stadium and obviously very iconic. I am sure it’s going to be very quiet on Thursday night. We are not fearing anything and both teams are excited by the challenge of Thursday night… If the crowd is silent, England would be doing well,” he said while speaking to the media before the match.