India ponder on spin combination for their Asia Cup opener, hints Morkel
Morkel said wickets at the Dubai Stadium in September is way more greener and less "tired" than the last time India played in March
New Delhi: In their last visit to Dubai, India had successfully used a four-pronged spin attack at the Champions Trophy earlier in the year, but bowling coach Morne Morkel believes conditions might call for a different approach this time around.
Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were all in the playing XI when India won the Champions Trophy in Dubai in March.
But speaking to reports on the eve of India's Asia Cup opener against the UAE, Morkel reminded that wickets at the Dubai Stadium in September is way more greener and less "tired".
"Again, we need to go and look at the wicket. I think when the Champions Trophy was played at that time, there was a lot of cricket on the surfaces here and they looked a little bit tired," Morkel said on Monday.
"So again, tonight we'll have a first look at the surface and I believe there's quite a bit of a grass covering on the square. So we'll have a good idea going into the first game in terms of what is sort of a better way to go, but in terms of planning at the moment, we're covering all bases and then we'll make a decision obviously on match day."
Yadav was not included in any of India's five Tests in England, which Morkel said must have been hard for him but backed the left-arm wrist spinner to put it behind him and perform when called upon in the T20 tournament that begins on Tuesday.
"I think he's a very professional athlete. His attitude since England, where he received hardly any game time, he's still the guy that put the overs in," the South African said.
"And for me, Kuldeep, like I said, he's bowled a lot of overs in his career. He knows what to do to get himself ready for T20 cricket, white-ball cricket.
"And like I said, we can control only what we can control now, and that is when we do train now and when we have our sessions, that it's focused, that there's a purpose behind it and we have goals.
"We set those goals out and from there, it's up to them to go out and lead with the ball," he added.
Extended role for Shivam
Being an all-rounder Shivam Dube must be ready to perform his bowling duties as a bowlers when needed upon, Morkel said.
"For me, it's always important to see a guy like Shivam that can bowl four overs," Morkel said.
"I'm always pushing for all-rounders to work hard on both skills. Sometimes guys can get a little bit naughty in practice and focus just on one. Here in this environment, we want to leave no stone unturned.
Morkel believes there could be an odd day when the sixth and seventh option become necessary due to the vagaries of this format where the best can be belted without care.
"On the day, we're going to need somebody to do the work for us. Conditions might favour him more than somebody else. For us, it's about being professional.
"It's about taking responsibility of putting quality work in there on the day when you're called upon by Surya to do the job. You’ve to be ready to do that," the former pacer said.