After winning 17 matches in a row in ICC events and losing a game to the finalist of the last edition, who were widely regarded as one of the favourites before the tournament started, one would be right to argue that India should be allowed one defeat and a loss against South Africa is not the end of the world. While after winning all four group stage games and two matches in the Super 8 remaining, there should not be many doubts over the Indian team's prospects of defending their title, but the reality is that, as things stand, that is not the case.
India would be foolish to put down the defeat against the Aiden Markram-led side to just a 'bad day', and the loss has raised several questions which the team must answer before they take the field in their remaining two Super 8 games against Zimbabwe on Thursday (February 26) in Chennai and the West Indies on Sunday (March 1) in Kolkata.
Coming into the tournament, India were seen as a class above the rest, and the question was whether any team could even compete against the Men in Blue on Indian soil. However, since the tournament started, the hosts have looked a shadow of themselves, and no one can say that they did not see the defeat coming.
While the performance against Pakistan was largely dominant, that was not the case in the other games. The opening game against the United States of America (USA) saw the batting collapse and the team face a major threat of losing before being rescued by Suryakumar Yadav. Even in the games against Namibia and the Netherlands, the display with the bat was far from comfortable.
Essentially, the difference between the bilateral games where India set a new standard with the bat, where the team were hitting 230+ plus totals for fun, and the T20 World Cup 2026 has been the nature of the pitches. The surfaces in the mega event have been sticky and have had something on offer for the bowlers. In these tracks, Indian batters have looked uncomfortable and easy for the opposition bowlers to strangle. This comes as a major concern, as while the tracks have not been as flat as usual, they have still been good for batting and do not have any demons on them except the one in Colombo.
For many players like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, it is their first outing in an ICC tournament, and the inability to handle the pressure does ring alarm bells.
On these pitches, India do not seem to know what to do when early wickets fall, despite making a name for being a fearless team that goes hell for leather. The rapid decline in strike rate from the middle-order raised major concern as well as questions on why the team have not stuck to their ideology. Suryakumar Yadav has batted at a strike-rate of just 127.65 in the tournament, which is also due to the knock against USA (171.42), as each of the other four outings in the competition have seen him score at a rate lesser than 125. Similarly, Tilak Varma's scoring rate in the tournament is 118.88, which is the fourth lowest across the tournament by a top-order batter.
Be it Hardik Pandya after the game against Namibia or Axar Patel after the clash against the USA, as well as coaching staff members Ryan Ten Doeschate and Sitanshu Kotak, it has been clear that the team have been left surprised with the pitches and it is evident that the team have had no plan for such situations. While South Africa launched a counter-attack despite being 20-3 through, David Miller and Dewald Brevis were clear in their plans; the same cannot be said for India. Infact, skipper Suryakumar stated before the game that Tilak has been told to slow down in case wickets fall, and the decision to promote Washington Sundar only made it evident that the team do not have confidence in their own methods and are feeling the pressure of the big tournament.
India's tactics and selections in Test and ODI cricket have been questionable since Gautam Gambhir joined the team; his impact on the T20I team was praised. However, come the big stage, the head coach as well as skipper Suryakumar Yadav have a lot to answer for. The decision to drop vice-captain Axar Patel for Washington Sundar is one that will go down in history books as one of the most baffling calls in Indian cricket history. While it is rare for the captain's deputy to be left out of the playing XI in a mega event, the fact that it was of someone like Axar Patel's quality, who is important to the team in all three departments, is hard to question.
Axar is a proven match-winner who has stepped up on big occasions for India in the past. Sundar is someone who has struggled to find a place in the playing for his IPL teams. Just because a team has three left-handers cannot be a reason to leave out a player who is so important to the team. It is worth questioning if much thought was even put into the selection, as despite David Miller smashing the Indian bowlers around, Sundar only bowled two overs. On the other hand, Axar is someone that guarantees four overs and also is a far more dynamic batter.
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