Former England captain Michael Vaughan labelled South Africa as the stupidest team of the T20 World Cup 2026, claiming that their mistake allowed India to defend the title.

Vaughan said that if South Africa had allowed West Indies to beat them in the Super 8s, then India would have encountered a daunting task to make it to the semifinals and may have been knocked out in the process.

India suffered a 76-run thrashing at the hands of South Africa in their Super 8 opener. As a result, the Suryakumar Yadav-led faced a must-win situation against Zimbabwe and West Indies to qualify for the final-four.

During the Super 8 stage, India lost to South Africa by 76 runs, and it left Suryakumar Yadav's team in a tricky spot, needing wins in their next two games against Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

The Men in Blue defeated Zimbabwe while the Proteas hammered West Indies to book a berth in the semis. Hence, India's last Super 8 fixture against West Indies became a virtual quarterfinal in Kolkata.

The hosts won the contest and went on to beat England in the second semifinal. On the other hand, South Africa were eliminated from the tournament after being outclassed by New Zealand in the first semifinal.

“I tell you, who I think is the stupidest team of the tournament? South Africa. Because if South Africa had allowed the West Indies to beat them in the Super 8s, India would have been knocked out. I’m just saying – if they had cleared them out, the juggernaut that was coming would have stopped,” Vaughan said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.

“By winning that game, they allowed the juggernaut to go on. India then beat Zimbabwe, then the West Indies in a kind of quarterfinal, and then England. South Africa had to play Zimbabwe next, and they even rested three players for that match," he added.

Vaughan suggested that the way to lift a World Cup trophy is by ensuring that the best team is eliminated early.

"Look, these things shouldn’t happen and usually don’t happen. I’m just saying that if you want to win a World Cup, the best way is to eliminate the best team early,” he remarked.

India played their best in the final, crushing New Zealand by 96 runs to win the coveted title. Consequently, they became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title, win it thrice and win it on home soil.