Team India got special advice before the match against Zimbabwe and West Indies, know the whole matter

T20 World Cup 2026: The Indian cricket team suffered its first defeat after 12 consecutive wins in the last two editions of the T20 World Cup. Defending champion India lost to South Africa by 76 runs in its first Super-8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday. Now on February 26 against Zimbabwe, it will have a chance to bounce back from this defeat. Former Indian cricketer and commentator Ravi Shastri has given a big statement on this defeat.

Ravi Shastri gave Gurumantra for victory to Team India

Shastri, while talking to host Sanjana Ganesan in the latest episode of ICC Review, said, ‘If you win 12 consecutive matches, a bad day is bound to come. I’m glad it happened quickly. Perhaps India needed this change. This may also force them to rethink their strategy regarding the composition of the team. He must have learned from that past experience not to take things lightly because if you lose one more (match) in this Super Eight, you are really putting a lot of pressure on yourself.

Ravi Shastri further said, ‘I would say play both of them (Axar Patel and Washington Sundar). Give yourself that extra option. Because on any given day you will definitely have a bowler who is having a bad day. Like, it was Varun Chakraborty’s on Sunday. He was not in his best form and he had to pay the price for it. If Axar Patel is playing, he can bat at number 8. You have Hardik Pandya at No. 5, you have Shivam Dubey at No. 6, you have Washington Sundar at No. 7. The letters can also go to number 5.

High intensity and focus#TeamIndia putting in the work ahead of #INDvZIM 🙌#T20WorldCup | #MenInBluepic.twitter.com/zjOtB9m7jS

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 25, 2026

Which players did Ponting give place in the team?

One of the points of discussion during the match against South Africa was the selection of Washington Sundar ahead of vice-captain Akshar Patel. That didn’t work on Sunday and the Indian think tank will have to solve that particular puzzle quickly if it wants to retain its title. On this, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said, ‘India should focus on playing its best 11 instead of trying to correct the matchup. This is because of the left handers in the South African team. But there are some right handers also. It just depends on the captain’s art to use the letter at the right time.

Ponting further said, ‘I will go back to basics. I’ll just look at their lineup. Who is our best 11 for the conditions in Chennai? If Akshar Patel is in it, then great. If Kuldeep Yadav is in it then also great. I would think about bringing him back because it doesn’t matter to him whether he is left-handed or right-handed. He can bowl wrong and spin the ball away from the left-hand outside edge of both the batsmen.

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