India’s crushing 76-run defeat to South Africa in the Super 8 match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 has exposed many weaknesses of the team. After the shock in Ahmedabad, Sanjay Manjrekar has raised serious concerns about captain Suryakumar Yadav and the batting unit.
Suryakumar Yadav struggles against slow balls
South Africa used a very clear plan in the big match held at Narendra Modi Stadium. Their fast bowlers kept bowling slow balls and accelerating the balls. Suryakumar Yadav failed to counter this strategy and could score only 18 runs in 22 balls. Later he was out for just 111 runs.
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Manjrekar believes it was not just a bad day, as he pointed out that Indian batsmen usually struggle when the bowlers reduce the pace. The commentator said that Suryakumar Yadav has been most affected by this move of the opposition teams.
Captain has struggled the most now: Sanjay Manjrekar on Suryakumar Yadav
“The other thing that shone in this game against South Africa was also the fast bowlers, when they get the pace down, the Indian batsmen are struggling. The captain has struggled the most now when the pace gets down,” Sanjay Manjrekar said in a video posted on Instagram.
The former Indian batsman also pointed out another major issue and that is India’s struggle against spin. Manjrekar suggested that the team management should reconsider the batting order.
He further said, “India is struggling against spin. So how do you solve it? Try to rearrange the batting order in such a way that players who are naturally good at spin are batting higher up the order, and guys like Tilak Verma, who is struggling a bit, can come lower down the order.”
Sanjay Manjrekar demanded inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav
Manjrekar also believes that when the batting is not going well, the team should strengthen the bowling instead of adding more batsmen. He has strongly demanded the inclusion of left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing eleven. Kuldeep has played only one match so far in the tournament, against Pakistan.
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The cricket pundit further explained, “When the batting is erratic, not firing, often you try and get more batting depth. There is another way to cover that weakness: a strong bowling attack. So, include Kuldeep Yadav. Varun could have a bad day, as we have seen.
If Kuldeep Yadav had played against David Miller today, who knows, India would have got a wicket at that time. So, yes, try and make a change that is feasible and immediately effective, and then work on the more complex problems to make batsmen better against spin and when the pace drops.
India can make changes in playing eleven
Suryakumar Yadav-led India’s defeat also ended their long winning streak in the T20 World Cup 2026. Now, with a win in the match against Zimbabwe in Chennai on 26th February, the pressure has increased on Suryakumar and his team, hence a change in the playing eleven is highly expected.
