Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath blamed skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir for the heavy loss against South Africa in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup. South Africa outplayed India in all three departments and registered a comprehensive 76-run win at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
After the loss, many cricket boffins expressed their surprise over Axar Patel’s exclusion from the team’s playing XI. Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy was also questioned as Washington Sundar bowled only two overs.
In the batting department, none of the Indian batters, barring Shivam Dube, could show much resistance and the hosts were bowled out for 111.
Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “It was shocking and disappointing and an expected loss. It wasn’t just a defeat but a hammering. South Africa outplayed India tactically, especially with their counterattack of Varun Chakaravarthy. The captain and coach definitely have to be held accountable.”
“It felt like the management and the players stepped onto the field with overconfidence for this game. Why did they not play for net run rate, or make such selection blunders, or have such a batting approach? India have plenty of questions to answer. It is now a must-win against Zimbabwe. Between self-confidence and arrogance, there is a thin line, and India are pushing that line.”
The former CSK batter was left flabbergasted after the team’s vice-captain Axar Patel could not find a place in the final XI.
“Axar Patel is the vice captain of the team. Why is he dropped? He has consistently done well in T20 cricket. I am astonished by this move. Once you picked Washington Sundar over Axar Patel, it was only for his off-spin due to the presence of left-handers in the opposition. Because Washington Sundar is definitely not a better batter than Axar Patel,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).
