India’s journey to a historic ICC T20 World Cup 2026 victory was not as easy as it looked from outside. In fact, a bold decision by the team during the final stages of the tournament had created serious tension inside the dressing room, which has now been shared by captain Suryakumar Yadav himself.
Vice-captain Axar Patel was surprisingly dropped from two matches during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, both of which were played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Axar Patel surprisingly dropped from Ahmedabad matches
One of the big decisions came during the crucial Super 8 encounter, where India suffered a shocking 76-run defeat against South Africa. The defeat took the Men in Blue closer to elimination and sparked huge debate as to why Axar was not included in such an important match in Ahmedabad, as he was well aware of the conditions.
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Well, they went with Washington Sundar keeping in mind South Africa’s left-handed heavy batting line-up. Unfortunately, things never went as India hoped and the strategy failed miserably.
Although the heavy defeat was not solely due to that call by Sundar, the decision was strongly criticized by fans and cricket experts. However, things were no different inside the dressing room.
He was very angry: Suryakumar Yadav on Akshar’s reaction
Now, Suryakumar Yadav has revealed that Axar was extremely angry with the call and feels that the all-rounder’s reaction was completely natural. The Indian captain eventually spoke to Axar and clarified the situation after realizing that the call had hurt the player.
The Indian Express quoted Suryakumar Yadav as saying, “He was very angry, and he should have been. He is an experienced player; he leads a franchise. He should be angry. I apologized. I told him I made a mistake and I am sorry, but it was a decision taken for the team. It was a difficult conversation. He took it seriously and we talked about it the next day.”
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Interestingly, the painful defeat against South Africa proved to be a moment of awakening for India. The team changed its mindset and started treating every match like a knockout game. As a result, they made a strong comeback by winning the remaining Super 8 games.
India vs South Africa was an eye-opener: Suryakumar Yadav
They later won the trophy by defeating England in the semi-finals and New Zealand in the final. With that win, India created history by becoming the first team to win consecutive T20 World Cup titles. The Men in Blue also became the first team in the world to win three T20 World Cups.
Suryakumar Yadav said, “India vs South Africa was an eye-opening match. I never had any doubts about this team, but it tightened the screws on us. After that, there was no option to come back. For us, Zimbabwe was the pre-quarterfinal. West Indies was the quarterfinal. Then the semi-final and the final. We had to play every game like a knockout.”
Notably, Axar Patel finished the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 with 11 wickets in 8 matches at an economy rate of 8.20. However, he could score only 21 runs in the tournament.