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Indian men's cricket team bowling coach Morne Morkel has thrown his weight behind batter Sanju Samson, insisting that the wicketkeeper-batter is just "one knock away" from regaining form as India continue preparations for the ICC T20I World Cup 2026.
Speaking to the media on the eve of the fourth T20I against New Zealand at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Morkel stressed the importance of players peaking at the right time rather than focusing on short-term returns. "Samson is one knock away from getting that confidence and getting that form back. We all know the cliche that form is temporary, and for us, as we build up to the World Cup, it's important for the guys to find that peak performance at the right time. He's training well, he's hitting the ball very well,l so I think it's just a matter of time for him to get a score on the board," Morkel said. India has already sealed the five-match T20I series 3-0, with two matches still to be played. The hosts may use the remaining games to test combinations and fine-tune their squad ahead of the global event, which India will co-host from February 7. Emphasising the team-first approach, Morkel added, "But the main focus is the team is winning, and I think that's important. We're 3-0 up in the series at the moment, the boys are playing some very good cricket, and we've got a couple of games now before the start of the World Cup, and I've no doubt that Sanju will find his form and run to the board." The former South Africa pacer also praised all-rounder Hardik Pandya's impact with the ball, highlighting his fitness and professionalism. "I think Hardik Pandya is again in the series with the ball for me. He showed his class. He's looking extremely fit, and his body is in good shape at the moment, which is a massive bonus for us," Morkel said. "Unfortunately, so far with the way we've been batting, he's sort of lacked that time in the middle, but I think we all saw if you were at the game in the last match that afterwards he went down to the nets and he practised for hours, so that is great to see." Morkel further underlined the depth and flexibility in India's bowling unit, calling it a key advantage heading into the World Cup. "That's the luxury that we have at the moment, that we've got a handful of bowlers that can bowl in every situation, in different situations. Part of the thinking for us leading into the World Cup was to look at different sorts of combinations, areas so we don't want teams to have set plans against us," he concluded. (ANI)
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