Team India suffered a defeat in its first match of the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup. South Africa defeated India by 76 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad Sunday, ending India’s long streak. Now, to make it into the semi-finals, India have to win both of their remaining matches. Following the defeat against South Africa, some changes can be seen in Team India’s playing XI.
India’s next match is against Zimbabwe and will be played in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. It is worth mentioning that Zimbabwe has defeated major teams like Australia and Sri Lanka in the tournament to reach the Super 8 stage. Therefore, the Indian team will not take Zimbabwe lightly.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to get a chance
The pitch at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium is considered favourable for spinners. Spinners tend to dominate here. Therefore, Team India may field three spinners. Furthermore, Axar Patel is expected to return to the team. Washington Sundar was considered his replacement, but after the defeat against South Africa, Axar’s return is now considered certain.
The 2026 T20 World Cup has been a nightmare for Abhishek Sharma. He has not performed as expected so far. There are now calls to replace Abhishek with Sanju Samson. However, the team management may continue to rely on Abhishek, leaving Samson to wait. Two changes are likely. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are expected to return.
India’s probable playing XI against Zimbabwe: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav/Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.