Team India, one of the strong contenders to win the T20 World Cup 2026, may be out of the title race even before the semi-finals. The team, which remained unbeaten in the group stage and qualified for the Super 8, is now keeping an eye on the matches of the rival teams to keep their dream alive.
If defending champions and competition co-hosts India make an early exit, then needless to say, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav will face a series of questions and criticism. Even their respective jobs may be in danger.
Why might Gautam Gambhir lose his job due to India’s exit?
Head coach Gautam Gambhir is the main man of the team. He got enough time to shape the team for the T20 World Cup 2026. From the beginning of his tenure as head coach of the Men in Blue, the BCCI provided him unconditional support to help the team achieve another glory.
Earlier it was reported that as per Gambhir’s recommendations, Morne Morkel and Ryan ten Doeschate have received appointment letters as bowling coach and assistant coach respectively.
The decisions regarding selection of the playing eleven and player-selection were all made under the supervision of Gautam Gambhir. Team India’s momentum in the T20 World Cup 2026 suffered a huge blow when they faced defeat by 76 runs against South Africa in the Super 8 match.
For this particular match, Washington Sundar was included in the playing combination in place of Axar Patel, which is another example of experimentation during the coaching era of Gautam Gambhir.
Why Ajit Agarkar may lose his job after T20 World Cup 2026?
If the team is out of the tournament, then chief selector Gautam Gambhir as well as Ajit Agarkar will have to take the responsibility. Why are proven T20I batsmen like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer not in the T20 World Cup squad? Ajit Agarkar would be the best person to answer this.
Team India’s current setup for the T20 World Cup 2026 includes a number of big hitters including Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dubey, Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya.
On his day, any of these batsmen can single-handedly change the complexion of the match. But he often faces problems on difficult surfaces. A calm batsman like Iyer or Gaikwad can provide balance to the team.
Why can Suryakumar Yadav be sacked after T20 World Cup 2026?
Since the questions relate to the performance of the national team, captain Suryakumar Yadav is responsible for providing clarity. A captain’s job is to lead the team to the final destination, which is the World Cup trophy podium. Why didn’t he play the anchor role against South Africa, where the pitch was not supporting the batsmen?
In such situations, the falling batsman gives information to the next batsmen so that they can be aware of the conditions. Did Indian cricketers do this to save the batting from collapsing? The captain will have to find the answer.
Before the India vs South Africa match, Yadav was asked about Abhishek Sharma’s poor form. In response, the captain said that he was not worried about Sharma, but was worried about those people who were thinking of a hat-trick on the zero score of the opener.
After the match, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar assessed that the team was overconfident and may also have ego problems. Gavaskar said, India can take lessons from South African batsmen to present a strong challenge. It is the duty of the head coach as well as the captain to maintain his focus in a high-octane tournament like the T20 World Cup 2026.
Read more: Sunil Gavaskar destroys ‘overconfident’ India batsmen after crushing defeat against South Africa in T20 World Cup
