India national cricket team bowling coach Morne Morkel said the team gives strong importance to fielding. His comments came while discussing India’s poor catching performance in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
India have dropped 13 catches in the tournament so far. This is the highest number by any team in the competition. The missed chances have raised concerns ahead of the knockout stage.
In their last match against the West Indies cricket team, Abhishek Sharma dropped two simple catches. Tilak Varma also missed a catching opportunity during the game.
India will now face England cricket team in the second semi-final. The match will take place at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, March 5.
England have performed much better in the field during the tournament. Tom Banton currently has the second-highest number of catches in the event with 10.
Morne Morkel Urges Players to Work Hard in the Field
Morkel said that improving fielding was one of the main focus areas for the Indian team before the tournament started. He also said that players never drop catches intentionally.
“Nobody will look to drop a catch on purpose. It’s not like we don’t train it. I mean, there’s a lot of focus going into our fielding, and that was one of the key points heading into the World Cup here. So the guys do train and work hard on our fielding. At times, is it a mindset thing? I can’t answer that,” Morkel said while speaking at the pre-match press conference.
Meanwhile, New Zealand national cricket team have already reached the final after defeating South Africa national cricket team in the first semi-final.
The winner of the India vs England clash will face New Zealand in the final. The title match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, March 8.
Morkel also spoke about the need to place the right players in important fielding areas.
“But yeah, for us, it’s just to keep on doing the hard work. Really focusing on specifics, getting certain players into the hotspots in the right areas. And, at times, it’s hard to do that because you’re also working against over-rate. So that’s the responsibility that the players need to take on the field. Find yourself in a position in the hot zones and to work a little bit extra. And if we can get the right players in those positions, hopefully we can take the catches,” said Morkel.
