Former England skipper Michael Vaughan picked South Africa as the stupidest team of the T20 World Cup 2026. Vaughan said if the Proteas had lost to West Indies in the Super 8 stage, India would have been knocked out of the tournament.

South Africa registered a comprehensive nine-wicket win against the West Indies. If Shai Hope’s team had beaten the Proteas, India would have been knocked out because of an inferior Net Run Rate as the Men in Blue had suffered a 76-run loss against South Africa.

West Indies had clinched a convincing 107-run win against Zimbabwe whereas India had won against Sikandar Raza’s team by 72. 

After South Africa’s win against the West Indies, India was kept alive in the tournament, and then SKY’s went on to win against the Windies, England and New Zealand in the last three games.

“I tell you, who I think is the stupidest team of the tournament? South Africa. Because if South Africa had allowed the West Indies to beat them in the Super 8s, India would have been knocked out. I’m just saying – if they had cleared them out, the juggernaut that was coming would have stopped.”

“By winning that game, they allowed the juggernaut to go on. India then beat Zimbabwe, then the West Indies in a kind of quarterfinal, and then England. South Africa had to play Zimbabwe next, and they even rested three players for that match,” Vaughan said on the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast.

“Look, these things shouldn’t happen and usually don’t happen. I’m just saying that if you want to win a World Cup, the best way is to eliminate the best team early,” Vaughan added.

India was at their best after their big loss against South Africa and they were just unstoppable in the business end of the tournament.