India batting underutilises Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh due to conservative approach

24 February,2026 08:40 AM IST |  Mumbai  |  A Correspondent

Suryakumar and Tilak Varma are both playing slightly conservatively, and what happens is that people like Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh are not tapped into resources as much

Sunil Gavaskar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Kaif


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Sunil Gavaskar, Former India skipper

Having seen how Brevis and Miller built their partnership, that was the approach needed from the Indian batters. The Indian batters did not do that. They came out with overconfidence, threw their bat at everything and lost wickets. South Africa clearly outsmarted India and it was a well-deserved win for them.

Sanjay Manjrekar, Former India batter

Suryakumar and Tilak Varma are both playing slightly conservatively, and what happens is that people like Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh are not tapped into resources as much. In T20 cricket, it's dangerous when the captain feels he's got to stay in, especially while batting first. No batter must think like that. Surya must be careful about that.

Irfan Pathan, Former India all-rounder

Really disappointing performance from Team India. The batting struggles were exposed by South African bowlers, but honestly, this has been a recurring issue throughout the World Cup.

Harbhajan Singh, Former India off-spinner

India are playing in a similar pattern where they are just hitting constantly. When wickets fall, the situation should be taken into consideration. In that regard, Surya did some hard work, but the rest of the batters didn't show the intent. India are in a very tricky situation now.

Mohammad Kaif, Ex-India batter

South Africa today showed they have a high-class overall bowling attack, no bowler that the opposition can go after. Can't say the same about India, they have at least two weak links. Two bowlers [against whom] batsmen can take liberties.

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T20 World Cup 2026 t20 world cup sunil gavaskar sanjay manjrekar harbhajan singh katrina kaif irfan pathan Suryakumar Yadav India vs South Africa cricket news sports news
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