Team India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has revealed that experienced all-rounder Hardik Pandya and young opener Abhishek Sharma experienced cramps during the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash against Sri Lanka on Friday, September 26. India managed to maintain their unbeaten streak in the T20 tournament by winning the match in a Super Over in Dubai.
Both sides had scored 202-5 in their 20 overs, after which Arshdeep Singh delivered a superb Super Over, giving away only two runs and securing victory for India. The Men in Blue are now set to face Pakistan in the final on September 28. However, fitness concerns remain ahead of the summit clash, as Pandya left the field after bowling just one over.
Abhishek Sharma also had to leave the field later, while Tilak Varma was seen limping following a catching attempt. Speaking at a press conference after the thrilling encounter, Morkel shared updates on the fitness of Pandya and Abhishek, stating:
“Both of them struggled with cramps. Hardik, I know, we will assess tonight and tomorrow morning and we’ll take a call on that. But, both of them were just down with cramps during the game. Abhishek is fine.”
“The New Ball Is Shaping Up Well” – Morkel On India’s Powerplay Woes
Although India remain unbeaten in the Asia Cup 2025, their bowlers have faced significant pressure, particularly during the first 10 overs. On Friday, Sri Lanka reached 114-1 by the halfway mark of their innings. Morne Morkel acknowledged that the fast bowlers have had a tough challenge, as the new ball comes onto the bat very nicely in the early overs.
“If you look at the trend of the tournament over here, it’s almost like after 10 overs the scoring rate slows down. The new ball is almost coming on nicely. The margin for error is quite small with the new ball. As a bowling attack, we want to go that aggressive route and get wickets. There hasn’t been a lot of swing upfront,” the former Proteas pacer explained.
“Our mindset is to take as many wickets as we can in the powerplay. We know, in the middle period, our spinners are going to come into play,” Morkel concluded.
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