Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has slammed Team India’s batting in their T20 World Cup 2026 match against South Africa. He also questioned why Suryakumar Yadav didn’t bat at No. 3 to manage a left-right combination in the middle as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “In batting, we threw a wicket against (Aiden) Markram in the first over itself. Ishan Kishan got out. Abhishek Sharma opened his account, but then he got out. We have decided that we will play Tilak Varma at No. 3 only. I ask, Surya, why don’t you come at No. 3? When a guy doesn’t have form, and you are having three consecutive left-handers, come. You only say in the press conference that the openers are confirmed and the rest is flexible, but are you flexible?”

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“We are not flexible. You don’t come at No. 3. Tilak Varma got out. You lost three wickets quickly, and then Surya was playing, but he was playing at a run-a-ball, and the asking rate that was nearly 9.50 went till 12 or 13, and the game was almost done,” he again shared.

However, Aakash Chopra also stated that India were virtually destined to lose their T20 World Cup 2026 match against South Africa once they had lost half their squad as well.

“If you check the 12-over mark in this entire World Cup, you will find that we have lost four or five wickets by the 12th over the majority of times. If we lose four or five wickets by the 12th over and need 13 runs per over after that, you can’t win this game. By the time Hardik came, the asking rate was nearly 12. Those many runs aren’t going to be scored. Shivam Dube hit a few sixes and brought the match slightly closer, but it’s a big, big loss,” Aakash Chopra concluded.