Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: India suffered a big setback in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 stage after losing badly to South Africa. Even though India had gone through the group stage without losing, the heavy 76-run defeat has made their path to the semi-finals much tougher. One major concern for the team is the poor form of opener Abhishek Sharma, who scored just 15 runs in the match after getting out for three ducks in a row earlier in the tournament.
Abhishek’s repeated failures at the top have put extra pressure on India’s middle order. Players like Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, and Suryakumar Yadav had handled that pressure in earlier matches, but they struggled against South Africa’s strong bowling attack.Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has now given Abhishek some advice. Amir, who earlier called him a “slogger,” said Abhishek needs to play smarter and not attack blindly. “You must have seen that he scored 14 runs on the same side. All three of the boundaries he hit were off bad balls. He does have potential. He kept the same intent even after three ducks. But, as a senior player, my message to him would be that international cricket will expose your technique. If he brings a little patience and hits the ball where it is, it would be better. He has the skills; how he wants to utilise them is up to him,” Amir said on the show Haarna Mana Hai.Amir also said India are not as strong while chasing targets anymore. “India were exposed as they were chasing for the first time in this T20 World Cup. This isn’t a team that has Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. They handled the match as the situation demanded,” he said.He also criticised India’s team selection and strategy. “The biggest mistake India made was sending three left-handers at the top. Rinku doesn’t even get time to play. You benched Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel against batters who struggle against spinners. No matter how big a team you are, you won’t get results until you play the right combinations,” he asserted.
