Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl has assured that the team has done their homework against co-hosts India ahead of must-win ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 clash. The abundance of left-handers in the side has led to India facing trouble against off-spinners on tracks that cannot be classified as batting paradises. Burl said that the team has got all bases covered with the variety in their bowling attack.
“We're doing a lot of our homework. Obviously, India's got that firepower where they obviously go really hard in the power play and if they don't lose wickets, they've got guys that can go hard throughout. We've obviously got a lot of options (in bowling) and that's probably one of the advantages of the Zimbabwe lineup," he said in the pre-match press conference.
“We've got left-arm seamer, right-arm seamer, we've got a couple of leg-spinners, we've got an off spinner, we've got a left arm offie. So, we do have quite a lot of depth and I think it will probably just come down to what are the match-ups depending on the batters that are out there and, obviously, the combinations that we do look to go for."
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Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza is likely to take the new ball and bowl to Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Abhishek has been dismissed twice by off-spinners for a duck whereas Kishan fell to South Africa skipper Aiden Markram fell for a four-ball duck in the previous game.
What’s next after big defeat?
Both India and Zimbabwe faced heavy losses in their first Super 8 encounters. India lost to South Africa in Ahmedabad by 76 runs whereas Zimbabwe faced a 107-run defeat at the hands of two-time T20 World Cup champions West Indies. But, Burl chooses to look at the positives ahead of the high stakes encounter.
“To be honest, I think we can only take positives from that defeat. It sounds weird, but we hadn't really had a bad game until then. So there is massive learning in that.
“And in saying that, India obviously also had their bad game against South Africa. So we're both looking to bounce back, and no better place than to do that tomorrow,” he said.
Burl’s T20 World Cup so far
Burl has not been at his best. He bagged a duck against West Indies in Mumbai. He has contributed with two cameos this edition. Against Sri Lanka, he contributed with a 12-ball 23 cameo. He took a slightly conservative route against Australia, scoring 35 runs from 30 balls in tough conditions.
With the ball, he claimed a wicket each against Sri Lanka and Australia. He wasn't introduced into the attack against the Caribbean side.