India have not lost a single match in the league stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, but there are some serious concerns inside the camp before the Super 8 round begins. India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has openly admitted that the rival teams have found a clear plan to trouble India.
Spin bowling is emerging as the biggest threat for India in T20 World Cup 2026.
And that plan is to attack them with a spin. Well, the first major concern is fielding. India have already dropped nine catches in the tournament. But the bigger issue is batting against spin. So far in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, Indian batsmen have faced 42 overs of spin.
They scored 315 runs in those overs, with the spinners taking 15 wickets so far in the showpiece event. Even smaller teams like the United States and the Netherlands managed to get close to India with this trick. He did not allow the Indian batsmen to play freely. He bowled tightly and did not give easy singles.
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Ryan ten Doeschate told the media, as quoted by RevSportz, “The Dutch players took the pace of the ball at times. And obviously with so many left-handers in our lineup, teams are bowling a lot of finger spin to us. It is a challenge. It (lefties) have made it easier for the opposition. We don’t have many options. We have Sanju sitting in the team.”
Big grounds and slow pitches that help spinners.
Ryan ten Doeschate said that “finger spinners” are a major threat, but the larger size of the field and slightly slower pitches are also helping the spinners control parts of the match.
The coach further said that Pakistan bowled around 14 overs of finger spin, but their numbers were not very good. However, he acknowledged that Netherlands off-spinner Aryan Dutt used clever variations, bowled slower balls in the air and made good use of big boundaries to create pressure.
Ten Doeschate also highlighted that larger stadiums mean longer boundaries, making it harder to clear ropes. In Colombo, the pitch was slow, making it more difficult to attack the spinners. The Indian coach said that such conditions make spin bowling more dangerous.
Finger spin is a big challenge: Ryan ten Doeschate
Now things will be tough in the Super 8 stage as India will face South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies. The Proteas team has strong spin options like Aiden Markram, George Linde and Keshav Maharaj. West Indies could use Roston Chase and Gudakesh Moti. Zimbabwe have Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl and Wellington Masakadza, who are capable of causing problems.
With so many quality spinners waiting in the next round, Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that the Men in Blue will have to adjust quickly and be smart against the finger spinners.
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He further added, “I would say finger spin. That is a big challenge. The point is that we need to make plans where wickets are up for grabs and boundaries are big. We need to be able to make a game plan to deal with that threat. That is something we have to focus on.”
As I said, given the amount of finger spin we will get in the next three games, it will be important that we dominate that phase of the game.
Ryan ten Doeschate hopes for better fielding in Super 8
Speaking about the defending champions’ poor fielding in the group stage, Ryan ten Doeschate mentioned that dropping catches is “never good”, but the players are working really hard, and things like that happen in the format. He concluded by saying, “Especially in the Super 8 stage, and we talk about the next stage, we’re going to come up against some really good fielding teams.”