T20 World Cup 2026: Marco Jansen delivers a dominant all-round display, turning Indian conditions into his personal stronghold.
Before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Marco Jansen was an ordinary bowler with only 20 IPL wickets in 21 innings on Indian soil. The left-arm pacer had an expensive economy rate of 9.53. However, in IPL 2025, Jansen walked out with flying colors, bagging the second-most wickets (16) for the Punjab Kings at a fine strike rate of 17.68.
The Protea pacer channeled the good work later in the bilateral series against India in India. Across formats, the lanky pacer collected 19 wickets, out of which 12 wickets came in four Test innings at 10.08. It is incredible how Jansen has used the same experience and expertise in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 with 11 wickets in four innings.
Marco Jansen’s superb transformation to make India his second home
Jansen made a massive contribution for South Africa to win the two-match Test series by a 0-2 margin. With the ball, he picked up 12 wickets at 10.08 and a fabulous strike rate of 28.40. Even with the bat, the right-handed batter collected 106 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 96.36.
Moreover, in IPL 2025, Jansen was excellent, finishing with 16 wickets in 14 innings. Under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership, he bowled in all phases of the game and performed decently.
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Marco Jansen’s performance in Tests vs India in 2025/26 series and IPL 2025
| Tests | IPL 2025 | |
| Inns | 04 | 14 |
| Wkts | 12 | 16 |
| Avg | 10.08 | 27.12 |
| Eco | 2.12 | 9.20 |
| SR | 28.40 | 17.60 |
| 5W/10W | 01/00 | 00/00 |
| BBI | 6/48 | 3/17 |
Jansen carried the momentum from these performances into the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. The left-arm pacer, ahead of their Super Eight clash against West Indies, is the event’s joint second-leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps in just four innings. He has a superb average of 12.18 and a jaw-dropping strike rate of 8.63.
South Africa’s captain, Aiden Markram, has used his trump card mostly in the powerplay and death overs. Inside the first six overs, Jansen has been a little expensive with an economy rate of 9.50, but he has bagged five wickets at a strike rate of 7.20.
Meanwhile, in the last five overs, the 25-year-old has collected five wickets at a mind-blowing strike rate of below five. He has foxed the batters using his variations and different field placements, making for eye-catching highlights.
Marco Jansen’s phase-wise performance in T20 WC 2026
| Powerplay (1-6) | Middle overs (7-15) | Death Overs (16-20) | |
| Inns | 04 | 04 | 04 |
| Wkts | 05 | 01 | 05 |
| Avg | 11.40 | 44.00 | 6.60 |
| SR | 7.20 | 36.00 | 4.60 |
| Eco | 9.50 | 7.33 | 8.61 |
| BBI | 3/23 | 1/7 | 2/6 |
| 4s/6s | 05/04 | 04/01 | 01/02 |
| Dots | 20 | 11 | 09 |
Jansen has been excellent against both the right-handed and left-handed batters. However, against the southpaws, he has operated at a different level with six wickets in just three innings at an average of 5.17 in this World Cup.
Marco Jansen’s performance against right and left-handed batters in T20 WC 2026
| Right-handed batters | Left-handed batters | |
| Inns | 04 | 03 |
| Wkts | 05 | 06 |
| Eco | 8.57 | 7.15 |
| Avg | 18.00 | 5.17 |
| SR | 12.60 | 4.33 |
| BBI | 2/20 | 3/10 |
| 4s/6s | 06/05 | 02/02 |
| Dots | 23 | 13 |
Even though Jansen has bowled first only once in this World Cup campaign, his performance with the ball while defending totals has been extraordinary. In 11.5 overs, the left-arm pacer has bagged seven wickets at 7.94 at a fabulous strike rate of 10.10.
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Marco Jansen’s innings-wise performance in T20 WC 2026
| First Innings | Second Innings | |
| Overs | 4.0 | 11.5 |
| Wkts | 04 | 07 |
| Eco | 10.00 | 7.94 |
| Avg | 10.00 | 13.40 |
| SR | 6.00 | 10.10 |
| BBI | 4/40 | 4/22 |
| 4s/6s | 03/03 | 07/04 |
| Dot% | 37.50 | 49.30 |
Jansen’s developing knuckle ball lights up South Africa’s death bowling
Jansen hasn’t become an expert in using the knuckleball yet in the shortest format, but he has developed different variations with outrageous field placements. Their fixture against New Zealand in Ahmedabad was a prime example.
In the powerplay, the Proteas went with their traditional attack mode. Jansen used the short ball and found extra bounce to nick-off Tim Seifert and squared up Rachin Ravindra into the hands of short third.
On the penultimate ball of the power play, the lanky pacer used the loppy slower ball outside the off stump against Finn Allen, who couldn’t resist the big drive. But the Kiwi batter didn’t get the elevation and was caught by captain Markram.
Jansen used the off-cutter at an early stage of his career. But it was relatively easy to identify by his finger-placements. However, his newly innovated knuckleball is far more difficult to identify. During the press conference, he explained the delivery as a ‘mix of both’.
“It’s not a knuckle, but it’s also not a palm. It’s like out of the back of the hand or deep in the hand. It’s a mixture of the two. If I go knuckleball, you can see my knuckles above the ball, and it’s easier to pick. So it’s basically my own version,” Jansen said in a press conference.
Against India, Jansen used his knuckleball to dismiss Abhishek Sharma. The southpaw didn’t notice it and was through with the shot. The ball came off the inside half and lobbed very high in the air before Cobin Bosch completed a superb catch.
Thanks to his height, Jansen has also been excellent in getting extra bounce off the surface. A similar delivery went against India’s Tilak Varma, who got a thin edge into the hands of wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock, unable to predict the extra bounce.
South Africa are unbeaten in five games of the T20 WC 2026. Another win will likely take them through to the semifinals. In the last edition, they fell short of the glory by just one big shot. But this year, they are a more improved side, with Marco Jansen integral to their hopes of achieving the big dream.
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