Washington Sundar was preferred over Axar Patel by the Indian team management.
India succumbed to an embarrassing 76-run defeat against South Africa in their Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday (February 22).
After the game, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate addressed the decision to leave out vice-captain Axar Patel from the playing XI.
The defending champions opted to go with Washington Sundar as spin-bowling all-rounder, and ten Doeschate said it was purely tactical and based on team balance.
“Yeah, we spent so much time deliberating about the 11, the last couple of days. And I guess the only way that it sort of didn't play into our hands is if we did have the ideal start like we did today with getting Quinton and Rickelton out so early,” the Dutchman said in the post-match presser.
He explained, "We were kind of looking at matchups more in the middle. And then obviously, someone has to give way. So, do we leave a batter out and get another bowler in? In hindsight, that looks like the right decision. But obviously, playing it forward and making decisions at the time, we felt we needed Rinku, as an eighth batsman, so to speak. And the decision was based around there."
The assistant coach clarified that the call was not a reflection on Axar's importance to the side. "But certainly, it's not to take anything away from Axar and his leadership and how important he is to the team," he said.
Ryan ten Doeschate acknowledged that selection conundrum has become a recurring theme given the depth in the squad.
"But look, we face almost every week to try to squeeze 11 places into 15. We're finding it tricky. And we need to make sure we get that spot on for the next two Super 8 games," he added.
When questioned on Sundar's limited IPL appearances for the Gujarat Titans, ten Doeschate replied, "I don't think that's necessarily relevant. You've got to look up the makeup of his IPL team. We know what Washi's done while he's been with the Indian team, and we judge him on that."
He went on to say that Sundar's effectiveness in the powerplay in T20Is also played a part in his inclusion.
"A big part of the strategy today was how well he bowled in the T20 when he bowled in the power play, and that was obviously a big part of the strategy today, going with three out-and-out bowlers plus Washi and two guys making up the fifth bowler. Winning that power play was going to be super important, and we more envisaged in bowling two overs in the power play, not knowing that they were going to be 30 for 3 and then obviously gives you the luxury of slotting somewhere in the order with the bat as well."
"So on balance, that was the decision. Given the fact that we thought the majority of the threat was going to come from the left-handers, and like I said, we wanted to play the extra batter, so it left us with one choice between Washington and Axar, and today we chose to go with Washi," he remarked.
Addressing the selection dilemma, ten Doeschate said, "I don't think it's as straightforward as that. As I alluded to earlier, in our analysis, we thought the biggest threat was going to come from Quinton, Ryan, Rickleton and David Miller. And when you can only choose one of the two, we thought someone who can bowl in the power play...we feel we've got Washy to a point where he's found a way of being effective in the power play."
He added, "He obviously didn't bowl in the power play tonight, so it looks like we've purely gone on who's going to bowl through the middle, in which case you would choose Axar. But the strategy was around that, and I think in a tournament like this, you want or you expect all players to understand that the best intentions are trying to pick the best 11 to win the game, and I hope Axar takes it in the same spirit as well."
"Yeah, again, I think if either of them had played it, it would have been the same role. If we had coupled down, we'd tend to use those guys as a sort of standard operating procedure where you try extend the link before you get to Hardik and Shivam. And if Axar had played in that team today, he would have walked in the same position at whatever we were, 20 for 3," he concluded.
Coming to the match, David Miller (63 off 35), Dewald Brevis (45 off 29) and Tristan Stubbs (44* off 24) produced stunning knocks to take South Africa to a formidable 187/7 in 20 overs.
In reply, India’s innings folded for a paltry 111 in 18.5 overs. It was a listless batting display from the hosts as no one beside Shivam Dube (42 off 37) manage to touch 20-run mark.
Marco Jansen (4/22), Keshav Maharaj (3/24), and Corbin Bosch (2/12) made significant contributions with the ball for Proteas, while Lungi Ngidi bowled miserly and gave away just 15 runs from his full quota of four overs.
(With ANI Inputs)