Having suffered a 76-ru thrashing at the hands of South Africa, Team India are facing a must-win situation in their remaining T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 fixtures to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals.

Ahead of India’s next Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif has expressed concerns over Shivam Dube’s bowling. Dube was taken to the cleaners by Proteas batters as he conceded 32 runs in his two overs and took the wicket of Dewald Brevis.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif minced no words as he doesn’t consider Dube an ‘all-rounder’ and with India set to face West Indies later in the Super 8, the latter can even concede four sixes in an over.

“With the field and his plan to bowl wide to (Dewald)Brevis, Dube showed that he wanted to be very defensive. Nobody bowls defensively in the 10th over. You looked to attack and try to take a wicket at that time. According to me, Dube is a batter; he is not an all-rounder. We don’t need an all-rounder who bowls at 120 kph. He might take an odd wicket but will always go for runs. He can even concede four sixes in an over against West Indies,” Kaif said.

Indian batting once again crumbled under pressure against South Africa as the defending champions were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs while chasing a stiff target of 188.

With India's top-order comprising the left-handed trio of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, rival teams have been using off-spinners in the powerplay. So far, this tactic has cost the Men in Blue dearly.

Kaif feels the issue can be sorted by bringing Sanju Samson to lineup. “There should be a balance in everything. We have gone overboard with lefties, where there are six left-handed batters in the top eight. Hardik is coming at No. 5 for the left-right combination. If you think it could be your winning formula, make a squad keeping that in mind. Bring in Sanju to get that left-right combination,” he remarked.