T20 World Cup 2026 – Albie Morkel’s coaching philosophy – Take the pressure off, don’t add

Once he worked through the desire to grow or top his bowling, he realized his new job was to do the things he wouldn’t have done as a player, and to learn to deflect pressure rather than absorb it. “It’s about finding that middle ground where you try to help, where you take pressure off the players.”

For now, that means doing less, even if it goes against the grain of Morkel’s natural instinct.

“My philosophy is that once you’re here and you start thinking about technical stuff, that’s when you confuse players. It’s more about how I can actually take the pressure off them and make them believe in themselves,” he explained. “The players know what they’re doing. If it’s really serious technical stuff, they should work on it, but not during tournaments.”

“We feel if we ask him to play a certain way, we’ll take away the X-factor. He’s going to break your heart at some stage, but he’s also going to win you matches. So the best way for us is just to let him be that guy,” Morkel said.

As problems go, this is not a bad one for South Africa to have. The rest of their lineup is in good shape and Brevis, at their first tournament, is the player they expect to serve them for many years. There is, as Morkel suggests, time outside of a major event to fix any issues – and no point in dwelling on them when the stakes are as high as they are now.

Is Rabada’s form – given that he is far more experienced than Brevis – something to worry about?

“It’s not a worry. I think if you look around T20 cricket, it can happen to any bowler at any stage, where the pressure just gets to you and you might have one of those days. But he’s still our leading fast bowler and we’re going to double him and back him all the way,” Morkel said. “It’s the only way to go now. If you get too tactical or technical with guys like that, who know what they’re doing, you can confuse them. So for him it’s just to accept that performance, move forward and be better next time.”

And “next time,” if you listen to Morkel, doesn’t necessarily mean the UAE game. South Africa are already through to the Super Eight stage and can use the final game to give opportunities to the likes of Jason Smith, Kwena Maphaka and Anrich Nortje.

Then the World Cup really begins – and in a big way – when South Africa face India in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

“There will be more pressure in those games as you move towards the play-offs,” Morkel said. “We’ve got a very experienced group that’s been exposed to pressure, whether it’s in the IPL or other leagues. International cricket is a bit different but these are guys who can handle that pressure. They actually thrive in situations where there’s a bit more at stake, so I’m not too worried.”

Morkel, who has played in five T20 World Cups, has faced India in every event, including the first edition, when T20 was still fairly new and players and boards alike were trying to work out how important the format would be in their portfolio. It has evolved massively. T20 now dominates the international calendar and has created opportunities for someone like Morkel to occupy an important coaching role.

He moved into coaching in the Titans, CSK and JSK set-ups after retiring from playing in 2018, and has been involved with South Africa’s T20 side under Shukri Conrad, who retain the same support staff across all formats. Morkel is seen as someone who could one day take over the lead job, especially in T20s, and he has learned from the best.

“He’s one of the only coaches — maybe the only coach in the world — who’s been with that franchise for 17 years, so he’s got to be doing something right.”

And Morkel hopes to do the same.