Team India will be looking to return to winning ways when they face Zimbabwe in a crucial Super 8 match in T20 World Cup 2026 on 26 February in Chennai. India are coming on the back of a 76-run defeat to South Africa in their first Super 8 match on Sunday.
The defeat has left the Men in Blue with a lot to do, making their upcoming matches against Zimbabwe and West Indies must-win games. India’s negative Net Run Rate (NRR) of -3.800 does not help their case either.
Changes could be in the offing for Team India in their next match against Zimbabwe, and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has suggested one notable change that could turn in their favour.
Sunil Gavaskar’s suggestion for Team India
According to Gavaskar, India should consider bringing in all-rounder Axar Patel into the playing XI in place of pacer Arshdeep Singh.
This is because Zimbabwe have fewer left-handed batters in their lineup. The spinner, in fact, has an excellent reputation against right-handed batsmen in T20Is, maintaining an economy rate of 6.80 and 7.40.
His bowling average against right-handed batsmen ranges between 20 and 22, and is effective in both the powerplay and the middle-overs phase. Axar has played three matches in the ongoing T20 World Cup so far, and has taken six wickets. However, he did not play against South Africa.
“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.
However, the former Mumbai cricketer noted Arshdeep’s excellent performance against South Africa, and admitted that the team management may not leave out the pacer. Arshdeep finished with figures of 2/28 against the Proteas.
“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 added.
Apart from Arshdeep, Jasprit Bumrah (3/15), Varun Chakravarthy (1/47) and Shivam Dube (1/32) also took wickets against South Africa.
However, Varun and Dubey proved to be expensive. In their reply, India were all out for 111 in 18.5 overs, with Dube top-scoring with 42 runs.
India, the defending champions, will need to beat Zimbabwe and West Indies by huge margins, and will need to hope that other results go in their favour.
