Former South African pacer Morne Morkel advised the Aiden Markram-led South African team not to overthink their plans for handling Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav in the T20 World Cup final against India on June 29. Morkel opined that the Proteas should focus on playing in the moment rather than over-planning their batting approach.

Bumrah and Kuldeep have been in terrfic form with the ball for India throughout their T20 World Cup campaign, emerging as two of the key factors behind the team’s run to the final.

Bumrah’s pace has posed as a major threat for other teams. Meanwhile, Kuldeep’s spin bowling has been crucial to India’s effective performance since the Super 8 stage. Bumrah has already taken 13 wickets in 7 matches, while Kuldeep has managed 10 in just 4 appearances.

Proteas captain Aiden Markram will know this spin-pace duo poses a major challenge. However, Morkel does not want his team to overcomplicate things in their first-ever World Cup final. After thrashing a strong Afghanistan side in the semi-finals and extending their unbeaten run, South Africa will be confident of ending their trophy drought.

Speaking with ESPN Cricinfo, The former pacer highlighted that South Africa should keep their cool, play ball by ball, and avoid putting too much mental strain on themselves.

“Jasprit is known to take wickets upfront, so they should look to be more aggressive earlier in the batting innings to try and post a respectable score. He will be crucial at the death when he bowls his two overs, so they need to play proactively in the middle overs to give themselves the best chance of reaching a competitive total,” advised Morkel.

“Kuldeep is an exceptional bowler for India who can create pressure and take wickets. Rather than overthinking the situation, South Africa would be better off maintaining their composure and focusing on each delivery, rather than getting caught up in the high-pressure moments,” he added.

India and South Africa are playing in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados.