The Indian team has made it to the Super 8s in the T20 World Cup 2026. With the crucial stage of the tournament approaching, the Indian fans and perhaps the management too were hoping to discuss the fixtures, margins and momentum. Instead, Abhishek Sharma’s form has turned into the loudest headline – three ducks in the group stage, not a single run, and the kind of hype that could swallow up a top-order batsman if the camp briefly began treating him as a crisis.
On Friday, Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel tried to quash this story before it grows any more teeth. The message from the press conference was clear: the dressing room doesn’t hold team meetings over Abhishek’s zeros. It is a contract of faith.
No need to panic in the locker room
When asked if there were any discussions in the dressing room about Abhishek Sharma’s three ducks, Morkel replied: “There is absolutely no discussion in our squad about that. Abhishek is a world-class player. So far in the tournament, fortunately, there have been guys who have sided with Abhishek, and they are clearly not scoring the goals he wants.”
What Morkel is doing there is drawing a line between output and value. Abhishek has not delivered the numbers yet, yes, but the management is not treating it as a problem to be solved. They treat it as a stage from which the winner will emerge in the end. And in a tournament that can turn over one eight-ball, the world title isn’t just polite praise — it’s a selection argument in this case.
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“It’s about starting his innings”: Morne Morkel
The second point Morkel made was about timing, not the ball, but the tournament. Group stages allow for patience. Super 8s require a contribution. This is where Abhishek is placed: not as someone who is protected, but as someone who is expected to emerge now.
“But we are going through a very important phase of the World Cup now, and I am sure he will do well,” Morkel said. “Not only for the team, but also for all the viewers watching the match, because he is entertaining, and we love to see that.”
The Indian bowling coach isn’t pretending runs don’t matter. He says a player’s ceiling matters more, especially when games are tight and one round can decide a campaign.
Then he dropped it where coaches usually drop it when they know the shot is close: the net.
“So, yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s hitting the ball well into the nets. It’s just a matter of getting it going and starting his innings,” Morkel added.
This is India’s position in one neat summary: no panic, no internal drama, just support – and a very specific expectation that an Abhishek Sharma-led World Cup begins now.
