Jasprit Bumrah and Abhishek Sharma will not get any rest in India’s final group stage match against the Netherlands, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Tuesday (February 17). In the pre-match press conference ahead of the match, Kotak emphasized that India needed valuable experience from the match in Ahmedabad as a return to the Super 8 finals venue and a potential showdown is planned.
Abhishek Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah fell ill in the run-up to the World Cup. While Bumrah managed to recover after India’s opening match against USA, Abhishek Sharma’s condition worsened. After a high fever in the USA match, Abhishek was hospitalized in Delhi due to a stomach bug. He didn’t look completely fit against Pakistan either.
After a stuttering start against USA, India bounced back strongly against Namibia in the T20 World Cup. They then dominated Pakistan in their third Group A match and will now look to end the group stage on a high with another win against the Netherlands.
Kotak also supported Abhishek Sharma who recently recovered from illness. The batting coach revealed that Abhishek wasn’t right in the lead-up to the match against Pakistan and insisted there was no need to reanalyze his four-ball duck in Colombo.
Abhishek entered the T20 World Cup with considerable momentum but is yet to score in two matches. However, Kotak said the youngster had his plans in place and was confident that they would come out well on Wednesday.
“He was not well. In the last match, he got out in the first over. We don’t want to analyze it too much. He has his plans sorted,” Kotak said.
With India set to play a Super 8 match – and possibly the final – in Ahmedabad, Kotak stressed the importance of familiarizing himself with the conditions. India has heavy memories of this venue as they lost to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final here.
“Every game is important, but with the Super 8 game coming up – and the final could be here – it would be nice to get used to the conditions,” concluded Kotak.
India’s Super 8 campaign begins on February 22 when they take on South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
February 17, 2026