T20 World Cup 2026: 5 Reasons why India will not defend the title

The Indian team has not looked that a dominant side in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. First the USA and now South Africa have exposed the chinks in the armor of the defending champions on their own home grounds.
USA showed that Indian batting can be topped, and since then some batters have left the thought of aggressive batting and turned anchors. There were good performances against the Netherlands and Pakistan before they were brutally humbled by South Africa in the Super 8s.
That huge loss has put India into panic mode, as another loss would mean their elimination from the T20 World Cup. Today, let’s see the five reasons why India won’t defend their world title.

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Here are the 5 reasons why India will not defend the T20 World Cup title:

5. Batting collapsing under pressure

Indian batting has not been in its best form. The top six have not batted harmoniously together. Even the USA bowling attack terrified the Indian batting, reducing them to 77/6 before Suryakumar Yadav rescued them. Even against Namibia, India’s batters struggled, and in the Super 8s, South Africa completely paralyzed the batters under pressure. India’s batting collapsed under disciplined bowling, and that is a troublesome headache for the team management.

4. Openers not maximizing powerplay overs

Indian openers have been blowing cold. Sanju Samson did start well against Namibia, while Abhishek Sharma has struggled, getting out in the first over itself for ducks in three games. He finally made runs against South Africa but couldn’t capitalize on the start. Ishan Kishan was the one giving India good starts and won them the game against Pakistan on a difficult pitch in Colombo. But his bad day came against South Africa, where he scored a duck. Both the openers have not fired for India and need to do so in other must-win games.

3. Middle order batters playing anchor roles, in trouble against spinners

A huge problem for India has been their two best middle-order batters, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, struggling to keep momentum if early wickets fall. Both Tilak and Suryakumar are excellent T20 batters, but they go into their shells against spinners and, instead of trying to break free, play anchor roles in the middle overs, leading to loss of momentum. Both of these players need to get a move on in the middle overs if India are to post a big score.

2. Poor bowling performance

Apart from Jasprit Bumrah and sometimes Varun Chakravarthy, other bowlers have been below ordinary in all the games India have played in this T20 World Cup 2026. While opposition spinners have found purchase on all types of pitches, Indian spinners have failed to do the same, as evident from the Super 8s loss to South Africa. The support bowlers like Hardik Pandya have not been able to continue the pressure built by the opening pacers.

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1. Poor decision-making from Indian team management, rigid tactics

The decision to bench Axar Patel in the Super 8s game against South Africa came back to bite India. Washington Sundar went for 17 runs in 2 overs and managed only 11 runs in a disappointing performance. Surya didn’t trust him to bowl his four overs, and the decision to send him above Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, and Shivam Dube proved to be disastrous. Axar Patel’s experience could’ve come in handy, but the Gautam Gambhir-led team management inexplicably benched him for this important game. Gambhir and Surya have been rigid in their tactics, and the decisions they have taken have backfired.

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