India was defeated by South Africa by 76 runs in Super 8 stage in Ahmedabad.
Former India captain Kris Srikkanth has slammed the Indian team management's tactics, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, calling them ‘absolutely ridiculous,' after the Men in Blue lost to South Africa by 76 runs in their Super 8s game in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026.
This match was played on February 22 in Ahmedabad and saw South Africa piling up 187/7 in 20 overs thanks to brilliant batting by David Miller, Dewald Brevis, and Tristan Stubbs. In reply, India was bowled out for 111 runs, with Marco Jansen taking four wickets and Keshav Maharaj taking three scalps.
Srikkanth slammed the Indian team management’s tactics and said it was ‘absolutely ridiculous’ that Gautam Gambhir and Co. demoted Hardik Pandya to number seven in the chase, despite his success batting higher up in the middle order.
“It was absolutely ridiculous. India was humiliated today on all fronts. It’s what we usually do to opponents, but the roles were reversed today. Hardik Pandya has done well in pressure situations at 5. He should have come in at No. 5. Instead, they sent him at 7, which was totally unfair. Hardik Pandya coming in at No. 7 was ridiculous decision-making," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh were among the players Srikkanth criticized for their subpar shots and individual performances.
“Ishan Kishan was almost caught at mid-on on the previous delivery, yet he is slogging the next ball. Was it necessary to slog the next delivery? Rinku Singh only scores single digits wherever he comes to bat. It’s easy to play in bilateral series compared to ICC events. The batters will now second-guess their approach going forward. Abhishek Sharma already went from striker to non-striker in this match," he added.
“The Indian batters’ mindsets will become further negative. India’s batting throughout the tournament has not been consistent. It’s just been bailed out by one or two players, and even that went for a toss this match. (Shivam) Dube hit some sixes at the end, but it was all empty calories after the game was already over," Srikkanth added.
India will now need to win both of their remaining games by a big margin. They face Zimbabwe in Chennai on February 26 and then the West Indies in Kolkata on March 1.