Morkel downplays Hardik, Abhishek fitness concerns

Morne Morkel, India's bowling coach, has allayed concerns around the fitness of Hardik Pandya and Abhishek Sharma leading into Sunday's Asia Cup final against Pakistan in Dubai.

Hardik held his left hamstring and walked off the field after bowling the first over of Sri Lanka's innings on Friday, in which he dismissed Kusal Mendis for a first-ball duck. Hardik didn't return to take the field for the remainder of the innings.

"Hardik had cramps, he will be assessed tonight and tomorrow morning, we'll then take a call on that," Morkel said at the post-match press conference. India's bowling coach was merely reiterating what India captain Suryakumar Yadav said at the post-match presentation.

Meanwhile, Abhishek too spent the entire second half of Sri Lanka's innings off the field. Abhishek showed signs of discomfort in the ninth over, when he clutched onto his right thigh while running. He eventually left the field in the 10th over, just before a Pathum Nissanka six was signalled dead ball because he hadn't left the field before Varun Chakravarthy began to run in to bowl.

Like Hardik, Abhishek too spent the rest of the innings being iced and treated with pickle juice to ease cramps. Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma came on as substitute fielders at different points. At one point, even Tilak Varma was briefly off the field, but he soon returned after a hydration break.

With the Sri Lanka game stretching way beyond its scheduled close due to the Super Over finish, India are left with an even shorter turnaround time before they take the field on Sunday. Morkel stressed on the need for the players to recover, and stay away from training on Saturday.

"The key for the boys is to rest," he said. "They're in an ice bath already. The recovery started straight after the match. The best way to recover is sleep and stay off your feet. Hopefully they can get a good night's sleep.

"There will be individual pool sessions for the guys organised. Then some massages before they get mentally ready for the big battle on Sunday. It's a quick turnaround, and playing smart is going to be the key. There will certainly be no training."

Morkel also touched upon the challenges players like Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana face when being called upon to deliver at a crucial stage in the competition. On Friday against Sri Lanka, the pair returned combined figures of 2 for 100 of eight overs in India's defence of 202, before a nerveless Arshdeep delivered in the Super Over to seal victory.

"In our environment we want to move away from an excuse culture," he said. "The effort they put in at training, we expect them to go out there and deliver. Yes, sometimes lack of game time is a factor. You can bowl as many overs as you like in the nets, but nothing beats game time.

"The quality of work we put in, we expect the guys to deliver. At the moment, things aren't happening for them but the team is winning, they're all X-factor players and real match winners."