Fresh drama unfolded in the Indian national cricket team, just a day after they suffered a crushing defeat against South Africa in their first Super 8 match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday, February 22.
Jasprit Bumrah and Akshar Patel reached different airports
Following the 76-run loss to South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India’s ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and vice-captain Axar Patel were seen arriving at the Ahmedabad airport separately on Monday, February 23. The pictures and clips went viral on social media within minutes.
Interestingly, the rest of India’s World Cup squad was traveling together in the team bus as it reached Ahmedabad International Airport to leave for Chennai for their next do-or-die Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe at the M.Chidambaram Stadium on February 26.
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This sparked a huge discussion on social media. Many have started to question whether all was well inside the Indian camp after the shocking defeat against the runners-up of the previous edition. Reports have confirmed that Bumrah reached the airport in his personal vehicle.
However, it was not that shocking, as Jasprit Bumrah lives in Goyal Intercity area of Ahmedabad. Whenever India plays in Ahmedabad, Jasprit Bumrah often travels separately. During India’s heavy defeat, Jasprit Bumrah performed brilliantly against the Proteas, taking 3 wickets for 15 runs in his four overs.
Akshar Patel’s omission has fueled the discussion further.
Axar, on the other hand, is from Nadiad, which is about 60 km from Ahmedabad. There are strong indications that both Bumrah and Axar spent time with their families before joining the Indian team at the airport for the flight to Chennai after the crushing defeat against South Africa.
Yet, the timing of this different travel after a heavy defeat and mounting pressure has added fuel to the fire, especially due to the fact that the all-rounder was surprisingly left out of the playing eleven against South Africa. Washington Sundar was selected in place of Akshar for the Super 8 game in Ahmedabad.
Jasprit Bumrah arrived at Ahmedabad airport in a separate car, Team India is yet to arrive #INDvsSA #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/h0mWW3gDQo
– AnkanKar (@AnkanKar) 23 February 2026
David Miller destroyed India in Ahmedabad
Meanwhile, David Miller turned the tables and bowled India out of the game in a high-pressure Super 8 encounter of the T20 World Cup 2026. South Africa chose to bat first and recovered strongly after early trouble. Miller played a brilliant inning of 63 runs in just 35 balls.
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Young Dewald Brewis provided good support to Miller by scoring 45 runs in 29 balls. He added 97 runs in just 51 balls for the fourth wicket and completely changed the match. Thanks to the explosive partnership of Miller and Brewis, South Africa posted a strong score of 187 runs for 7 wickets on the board.
In reply, India’s innings, while chasing the target, appeared to be faltering from the very beginning. The team struggled to build partnerships and wickets kept falling. South Africa’s left-arm fast bowler Marco Johnson led the attack with 4 wickets for 22 runs. Senior spinner Keshav Maharaj took three wickets for 24 runs and maintained the pressure in the middle overs.
Corbin Bosch also took 2 wickets for 12 runs, as India were bowled out for just 111 runs in 18.5 overs. Shivam Dubey tried to fight back by scoring 42 runs in 37 balls, but he did not get enough support from the other batsmen and suffered a crushing defeat in Ahmedabad.