India captain Suryakumar Yadav insisted he has no concerns over Abhishek Sharma's form at the T20 World Cup.

Abhishek is yet to score at the tournament, being dismissed for a duck in each of the three matches he played in during the group stage.

He became just the third batter to log three consecutive ducks in a single edition of a men's T20 World Cup, joining West Indies' Andre Fletcher (2009) and Uganda's Roger Mukasa (2024).

Nevertheless, India managed to complete an unbeaten group stage on their way to reaching the Super 8s, where they will face South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Ahead of their clash against the Proteas, in a repeat of the 2024 final, Suryakumar defended Abhishek's recent performances with the bat.

"I worry for the people worried about Abhishek's form," said the India captain.

𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝟖 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 #TeamIndia is all set and ready for #INDvSA #T20WorldCup | #MenInBlue pic.twitter.com/ITVpUg9e9k

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"Why are they so worried about Abhishek's form? I think about those teams who are going to play against him. That he has not yet scored a run. When he scores, you have seen what happens.

"It happens [ducks]; it's a team sport, it keeps going on. Now, the team has a requirement that the guy should play with his identity, so he is trying to play. If it happens, it's fine. If it doesn't, we are there to cover.

"Last year, he covered for us; now, we will cover for him."

India have won five of their seven games against South Africa at the men's T20 World Cup, including the final of the 2024 edition, beating only Pakistan more often in the competition (eight).

However, the Proteas are unbeaten in each of their last four men's T20Is (W3 T1); the last time they had a longer such run in the format was during the 2024 T20 World Cup, when they won eight straight games, with that run also coming to an end against India.