IND vs ZIM: Surya-Gambhir’s tension increased, form of two players became a big headache for Team India; It is certain that someone will be dropped from the playing XI!

IND vs ZIM: India will face Zimbabwe in the next match of T20 World Cup 2026. This match is to be played on 26 February in Chennai. Before which there is a lot of pressure on Team India. India had faced a humiliating 76-run defeat against South Africa in the group stage.

Team India’s batsmen had a very disappointing performance in the match against South Africa. You can guess this from the fact that except Shivam Dubey (42 runs), no other batsman could even cross the 20-run mark. In such a situation, the tension has increased a lot for captain Surya and coach Gautam Gambhir because calculating the playing XI will not be an easy task.

‘Do or die’ situation for Team India

Now, to make it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026, India will not only have to win the next two matches but will also have to defeat Zimbabwe and West Indies by a big margin. If this does not happen then his dream of becoming T20 World Champion for the second consecutive time may be shattered. Both these matches will be like ‘do or die’ for Team India and there can be some big changes in the playing eleven as well.

IND vs ZIM: The blame will fall on these two players

After the crushing defeat against South Africa, it is almost certain that Tilak Verma and Washington Sundar will be in trouble. Batting at number 3, Tilak has not been able to show anything special so far in the T20 World Cup 2026. In the match against South Africa, he was out after scoring one run and playing a very irresponsible shot. Coach Gautam Gambhir, sitting in the dugout, was also extremely disappointed with the manner in which he was out.

In the important match against Zimbabwe, the team management may think of giving a chance to Sanju Samson in place of Tilak Verma. Anyway, in the Indian batting order, 5 out of the top 7 are left-handed batsmen. The opposing teams are coming up with plans for this, due to which Team India is facing losses. Seen from this perspective also, Sanju Samson can replace Tilak Verma.

IND vs ZIM: Sundar’s departure is certain!

Fans were quite disappointed with the absence of vice-captain Akshar Patel’s name in Team India’s playing eleven against South Africa. This plan of Gambhir-Surya flopped miserably. Washington could not make much of an impact with his beautiful bat and ball. Obviously, the team management would like to correct this mistake against Zimbabwe. Akshar can perform better than Sundar with the ball and bat.

IND vs ZIM: India’s probable playing XI

Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakraborty.