Suryakumar Yadav's Men Lost Chance To Become Virat Kohli: Virender Sehwag Blunt After South Africa Thrash India

The T20 World Cup 2026 is the first ICC quadrennial event that India are playing without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in a long time. And everything was going smoothly for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side until the Super 8 match against South Africa in Ahmedabad on Sunday. A shuddering 76-run loss now leaves defending champions India in a must-win situation - and even then, they might not advance from a group that includes South Africa and West Indies (both with one win each), along with Zimbabwe.

Chasing a target of 188, India could manage only 111. It prompted Virender Sehwag to mention chasemaster Virat Kohli on numerous occasions in his post-match analysis.

"India have won chasing 160 only when Virat Kohli made runs. Otherwise, India have never won chasing more than 160 in a World Cup. And in most cases, he used to stay not out. Be it 80, 60, or 50 not out, Kohli used to finish the match. Which player finished the match yesterday (vs SA)? In this World Cup, which batsman has finished the match? Yesterday, many players had the opportunity to become Virat Kohli," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

"Tilak Varma had a chance. Suryakumar Yadav had a chance. Shivam Dube had a chance. Hardik Pandya had a chance. Someone has to become Virat Kohli. Someone has to finish the match. Someone has to learn. How did Virat Kohli finish games? We talk about strike rate. OK, I agree that strike rate matters. But when you chase, you can see the scoreboard. Then you can play as you wish and win the game. Then strike rate doesn't matter. So I think the players will have to take responsibility.

"Be it Suryakumar Yadav - he doesn't play like he played against South Africa... It felt like Suryakumar Yadav was playing under pressure. He was playing to save. If you play like that, it is difficult to win. India will have to play fearless cricket."

India's chances of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals took another hit as West Indies registered a mammoth 107-run victory over Zimbabwe in their Super 8 match in Mumbai on Monday. India were already on the back foot following their loss to South Africa, and West Indies' huge victory margin now means that India will have to win their remaining matches by big margins to keep their Net Run Rate (NRR) healthy

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 Suryakumar Yadav Virat Kohli Virender Sehwag Cricket