Morne Morkel backs India's batting unit to improve against spin ahead of Super Eight clash vs South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup.
Ahead of India's Super Eight clash in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, bowling coach Morne Morkel backed the batting unit to "find their flow" against spin, saying that dominating tweakers on the surfaces so far has not been easy but improvement is "around the corner."
India will be starting off their Super Eight stage of the ICC T20 World Cup against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday. So far in the tournament, Indian batters, particularly Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, have not been at their best against spin, finding it tough to dominate them whenever the ball is coming slow, and the surface offers some turn.
Despite posting in excess of 190 in two of the matches, including 200-odd against Namibia, the Indian team feels a little far from their absolute best as a batting unit.
Speaking during the pre-match presser, Morkel said about the team's mixed bag game against spin, "To be honest, I think on the surfaces we have played so far, it was not the easiest wickets to hit the ball. We tried that in Mumbai, and found ourselves in trouble. So I think the important thing is that we know we can always... If we have some sort of platform, we can catch up at the back end."
"And to credit to the team, yes, we may not have dominated spin as we would have liked. But that is around the corner on a surface that we find our flow. As I said earlier, that will happen."
Morkel chose to see the optimistic side of things, pointing out how, despite being slightly disappointing against spin, there have been instances of them scoring 190-200 runs on the board in this tournament.
"This, with our bowling unit, will give us a great opportunity to defend. So, in saying that, I think the conversation in the dressing room was to play that low phase slightly better. And then from there, we can reset and say, 'OK, listen, we are going to pull the trigger' at a certain whatever over that might be. And then the guys will kick on. But give us that base to launch from," concluded.
Morkel praises Shivam Dube
Morkel hailed star all-rounder Shivam Dube's growth as a bowler, saying it comes from confidence and team backing from the captain, coach, and staff support.
"With Shivam, I think any bowler, we like confidence. You want to feel the backing. This journey started almost more than a year ago, when we gave him the responsibility to bowl for us in Dubai and take you back to Dubai to bowl the first over. I think as soon as you feel in that environment, you feel that you get backed by, first, the captain, the coach, and the staff. From there, life becomes a little bit easier. You don't have to try to prove yourself. You don't have to try too hard," Morkel said.
"He's got a lot of skill with the ball, with variations. I believe when I catch him, he hits the mitt quite hard. For him, it was just a matter of building that confidence and polishing up on when to use his variations. I think he has a very good understanding of conditions. He can read the conditions very well. As a power hitter himself, he will work out what is the toughest ball to bowl," Morkel added.
"I think having that game sense and just giving him the backing and to say, listen, if you go for the boundary, it's okay. You have a potential guy who can pick that wicket fast. He can bring us control with the ball in terms of his execution," Morkel concluded.
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