Abhishek Sharma scored a hundred against England last year, tomorrow there is another opportunity: Morne Morkel

MUMBAI: India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has put an end to rumours surrounding opener Abhishek Sharma’s place in the Playing XI ahead of their semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2026 against England on Thursday, March 05 at the Wankhede Stadium here. There has been a section of cricket experts and fans questioning Abhishek’s spot, after his string of failures in the ongoing tournament. 

Morkel compared Abhishek’s situation to fellow opener Sanju Samson, who had found himself in a similar condition, but returned to form in a must-win game against the West Indies and single-handedly helped India chase down the target. The former South Africa international feels that the 

“Sometimes the game can be hard, it was the same for Sanju not so long ago. He scored a hundred against England last year, tomorrow there is another opportunity. Abhishek’s way of playing is that 1-2 shots give him confidence and rhythm. Its a fresh page for him, and hopefully, Abhishek will do well tomorrow,” Morkel said during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

To those unaware, Abhishek has a strong record against the Englishmen in the shortest format of the game. In his most recent outing against the Harry Brook-led side, which came at the same venue, Abhishek smashed a brilliant 135 off just 54 deliveries. With another batting-friendly deck on the cards for the semi-final, the 25-year-old will look to rediscover his lost form and produce a memorable knock.

Notably, the last match at the Wankhede Stadium produced a high-scoring encounter, where the Caribbean side posted a record total of 254-6 against Zimbabwe. Morkel believes that the surface at the Wankhede is going to be immensely helpful for the batters in the upcoming contest as well and expects his team to go all guns blazing in the evening.

“We will have a better indication of the pitch tomorrow. Quite hard to judge it in the afternoon but we think it’ll be a high scoring game,” Morkel said.

The winner of the second semi-final will be meeting either South Africa or New Zealand in the grand finale at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Sunday, March 08.