Indian Abhishek Sharma (PTI Photo/Gurinder Osan)
Former India captain Kris Srikanth launched a scathing attack on the Indian batting unit after their crushing 76-run defeat to the South Africa Cricket Team in the 2026 T20 World Cup Super Eight match in Ahmedabad.Chasing 188, India exploded spectacularly and were bowled out for 111 in the 19th over. The collapse was sparked early when in-form opener Ishan Kishan was killed off for a four-ball duck in the first over, falling at an off-spin move to Aiden Markram.
Why is India in deep trouble? T20 World Cup 2026 | India vs South Africa
Reacting to the rash start, Srikanth did not mince his words while speaking on his YouTube channel.“Ishan Kishan is caught almost mid-serve, yet he bowls the next ball. Was it necessary for him to bowl the next ball? Rinku Singh scores only single figures wherever he comes to bat. It is easier to play in a two-man series than in ICC events. The batsmen will now be guessing their style going forward. Abhishek Sharma has already gone from striker to non-striker in this match.”The former opener also questioned the team’s batting order and pointed fingers at it
Suryakumar Yadav
To not take more responsibility.“Suryakumar Yadav made a huge mistake. He should have come in third. He just said that all points except the opening points are flexible. This left-right combination is all nonsense. This is what led to
Hardik Pandya
You will come at seven. It’s only your mentality that matters when you play good cricket.”Suryakumar entered at number 4 while India languished at 5/2 and managed just 18 off 22 deliveries.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya surprisingly dropped to number seven, scoring 18 off 17 balls.Srikanth was particularly angry at the decision to field Washington Sundar ahead of the winners when India were 26/3 in the fifth over. Sundar, who was promoted to No.5, made 11 off 11 balls as the chase slipped away.“It was completely ridiculous. India was humiliated today on all fronts. This is what we usually do to our opponents, but the roles have been reversed today.”
Hardik Pandya did well in pressure situations in the fifth over. He should have come in fifth place. Instead, they sent him out at seven, which was completely unfair. “Having Hardik Pandya at number seven was like taking a ridiculous decision,” Srikanth said.He warned that the repercussions of such a heavy defeat may continue.“The mentalities of the Indian players will become more negative. Indian batting throughout the tournament has not been consistent. They were just saved by one or two players and even that led to the toss of this match. Dube hit a few sixes in the end, but it was all empty calories after the match was already over.”Apart from Shivam Dubey’s 42, none of the Indian batsmen could cross 20, marking one of the most disappointing batting performances in recent memory and leaving the Super Eight campaign hanging in the balance.
