India vs South Africa, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: India had a horrible outing against South Africa in their first Super 8 match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, suffering a big defeat of 76 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. This was India's first defeat in the tournament as they were completely outclassed by the Proteas in all departments.
With this defeat, India's road to the semifinal qualification has become tough, and the team has faced heavy criticism over some strange calls as well as a lack of ruthlessness in the big game. Amid all the talks, India's playing XI has also come up under the scanner, especially the decision to drop the vice-captain Axar Patel. His replacement, Washington Sundar, couldn't create a major impact.
In an interesting turn of events, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has hinted at the possible changes in the lineup for their next Super 8 match against Zimbabwe, which is scheduled to be played in Chennai on Thursday. When asked about Samson's inclusion in the upcoming games, Doeschate mentioned that a call on it could be taken later, but didn't deny the possibility, given the fact that the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma's form have become a massive concern for the hosts now.
"Four teams have opened up with part-time off-spinners. It hasn't gone our way. Do we stick with players who have done well in the last 18 months, or do we get Sanju in? That's a call we will take," Doeschate said in the post-match press conference.
"I don't want to make excuses for Abhishek or Tilak.. Abhi had food poisoning. When you score 3 zeroes, it will obviously weigh in. He looks short, and it is our job to make him get things right again. There's no point talking about rhythm in nets and all that, it is time to perform," he added further.
Notably, Abhishek kicked off the tournament with three successive ducks to his name before scoring 15 runs against South Africa. On the other hand, Tilak also has struggled to attack in the middle overs and was dismissed for just 1 during India's challenging run chase. Doeschate went on to clarify the decision to replace Axar with Washington, saying that Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Ryan Rickelton were the biggest threats in the match.
"We spent so much time deliberating about the XI. We were looking at matchups in the middle. But we felt we needed Rinku, and that's why we made the decision. It doesn't take away anything from Axar as far as his quality and leadership are concerned. We know what Washi has done. It played a big part in the strategy tonight. Looking at the balance and left-handers, it was between Washi and Axar, and we chose Washi tonight.
"As per our analysis, the biggest threat was Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Ryan Rickleton, and that's why Washi was picked for the middle overs. We tried to best XI. If Axar played today, he would have batted in the same position as Washi," Doeschate said.