India’s Abhishek Sharma (PTI Photo/Gurinder Osan) Former India captain Kris Srikkanth launched a scathing attack on the Indian batting unit following their crushing 76-run defeat to the South African national cricket team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup T20 match in Ahmedabad.Chasing 188, India imploded spectacularly and were 111 in the 19th over. The collapse was started early when the in-form Ishan Kishan perished for a four-ball duck in the very first over and fell to the part-time off-spin of Aiden Markram.
Why India is in deep trouble | T20 World Cup 2026 | India vs South Africa
Reacting to the rash start, Srikkanth didn’t think anything of it while talking on his YouTube channel.“Ishan Kishan was almost caught at mid-off on the previous delivery and yet he smacks the next ball. Was it necessary to bowl the next delivery? Rinku Singh is only scoring in single figures wherever he comes to bat. Bilateral series are easy to play compared to ICC events. The batsmen will now be second-guessing their way forward.”The former opener also questioned the team’s batting order and pointed the finger at Suryakumar Yadav for not accepting more responsibility.“Suryakumar Yadav made a big mistake. He should have started at No. 3. He only said that all positions except the openers are flexible. This left-right combination is pure nonsense. That led to Hardik Pandya coming in at 7. It just depends on him playing good cricket and your mentality.”Suryakumar walked in at No.4 with India tottering at 5/2 and managed just 18 off 22 deliveries. Hardik Pandya, meanwhile, was surprisingly relegated to No.7, where he scored 18 off 17 balls.Srikkanth was particularly furious with the decision to send Washington Sundar ahead of the established runners-up when India were 26/3 in the fifth over. Promoted to No.5, Sundar made a laborious 11 off 11 balls as the chase wound down.“It was absolutely ridiculous. India were humiliated on all fronts today. That’s what we usually do to our opponents, but the roles were reversed today. Hardik Pandya did well in pressure situations at 5. He should have started at 5. Instead he was sent at 7, which was totally unfair. Hardik Pandya coming at 7 was ridiculous,” said Sthkan.rik.He warned that the fallout from such a heavy defeat could linger.“The mindset of the Indian batsmen will become more negative. India’s batting has not been consistent throughout the tournament. They were just saved by one or two players and that was wasted in this match. Dube hit some sixes at the end but it was just empty calories when the game was over.”Apart from Shivam Dube’s 42, none of India’s batsmen managed to cross 20 in one of their most disappointing batting performances in recent memory, leaving their Super Eight campaign hanging in the balance.
