India’s heavy 76-run loss to South Africa in their Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad did not sit down well with the cricket fraternity. Now, former India captain Kris Srikkanth has openly targeted Tilak Varma.
India’s 76-run hammering sparks outrage
Chasing the target of 188 in the Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026, India were already under pressure after losing Ishan Kishan for a duck. Tilak Varma came to bat in a tense situation. But he made the blunder by trying to play a big attacking shot against tall pacer Marco Jansen on just his second ball.
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The risky shot backfired. He got out for just one run, and India found itself atwas 5/2. His wicket hurt the Men in Blue badly, as their batting never recovered from that point. Eventually, the defending champions were bowled out for only 111 runs, and the match slipped away quickly.
Kris Srikkanth questions Tilak Varma’s place
After India’s massive defeat, Srikkanth could not hide his anger. He questioned Tilak Varma’s shot selection and even raised doubts about his place in the playing XI. The former chief selector said that Tilak could be dropped for the next match if Sanju Samson gets a chance in Chennai.
Kris Srikkanth said in a video posted on his YouTube channel, “If Sanju Samson has to come into the 11, there is no place for Tilak Varma. Many are questioning Tilak’s place in the side. There’s a good chance he’ll be dropped from the 11 for the shot he played today. It was a horrible shot, and he didn’t deserve to stay at the crease after playing a shot like that.”
Tilak Varma’s overall performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 is not impressive. In five matches, the 23-year-old has scored 107 runs in five matches at an average of 21.40 and at a strike rate of 118.88.
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India misses Virat Kohli!!
Srikkanth also said that India is clearly missing a big-match player like Virat Kohli. Kohli retired from T20Is after the 2024 World Cup win, and since then, India has struggled in pressure chases. In the past, whenever India chased big totals in World Cups, Kohli used to stand strong and finish games.
He added, “Kohli was the Player of the Match in our top three chases in the T20 World Cup. There is clearly a big hole without a chase master like Virat Kohli. India will continue struggling to chase big totals without him. All the teams will only bat first and make India chase moving forward.”
Abhishek Nayar blasts Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan over poor shot choices
Earlier, former Indian batting coach Abhishek Nayar slammed Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan for their poor shot selections against South Africa in the Super 8 clash of the tournament.
Nayar was quoted as saying by JioStar: “It’s going to be a very uncomfortable discussion between Ishan Kishan and Abhishek as to who takes the strike because suddenly, he has passed the baton of the zeroes to Ishan Kishan, someone who was in prime form. But this is a problem for India.”
