India Playing XI vs Zimbabwe, T20 World Cup: Sunil Gavaskar Suggests Drastic Move, Drops Fast Bowler

There has been a lot of chatter around India's decision to not include all-rounder Axar Patel in their playing XI for the T20 World Cup Super 8 match against South Africa. India slumped to a 76-run loss with Washington Sundar, who played instead of Axar, not impressing with both bat and ball. Ahead of their next match against Zimbabwe, legendary India skipper Sunil Gavaskar made it clear that Axar needs to make a comeback to the playing XI and suggested that he can replace pacer Arshdeep Singh. “I would look at bringing Axar Patel back into the playing XI, keeping in mind the lack of too many left-handed batters in Zimbabwe's line-up. You could possibly bring him in place of Arshdeep Singh," Gavaskar said on JioStar.

“But Arshdeep bowled so well against South Africa and you wouldn't want to change somebody who looked in such good rhythm. So, maybe they might not make a change and go with the same team," he said.

Meanwhile, India assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak asserted that the decision was born purely out of tactical compulsions.

“Yeah, we spent so much time deliberating about the eleven over the last couple of days. We were kind of looking at match-ups more in the middle. In hindsight it looks like the right decision (to play Axar), but at the time we felt we needed Rinku as an eighth batter. The decision was based around there," the straight-talking Ten Doeschate replied to a query from the PTI during the post-match press conference.

He repeatedly stressed that the decision isn't a reflection of how Axar is perceived in the team or whether the vice-captain is dispensable.

"It's certainly not to take anything away from Axar and his leadership and how important he is to the team,” Ten Doeschate said.

(With PTI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Arshdeep Singh Axar Patel Suryakumar Yadav India Cricket Team Zimbabwe Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket