Former India cricket team star Mohammed Kaif has flagged the excessive presence of left-handers in the team as a point of concern ahead of the Super 8 tie against South Africa. Suryakumar Yadav and co. will face a stiff challenge in their road to lifting the T20 World Cup 2026 as they take on the Proteas in what will be a mouth-watering contest. Ahead of the tie in Ahmedabad, Kaif pointed out that India had too many left-handed batters in their line-up, something which the opposition could easily exploit.
Too many southpaws a problem for India?
In a video on his YouTube channel, Kaif noted that Hardik Pandya – who usually doesn’t bat at number 5 – was forced to do so in the game against Namibia. He reasoned that that this was done because the team had to strike a left-right balance owing to the presence of too many southpaws in the side. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, India’s openers, are both left-handed batters. Tilak Varma is a southpaw too, followed by Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar.
“Why is Hardik Pandya coming at number five? Hardik Pandya does not usually bat at number five. In Delhi, he played at number five against Namibia because there were many left-handers. So, due to the left-right combination, he had to move up the order to balance left and right-handers. This is an issue because with so many left-handers, it becomes a bit easier for the opposition team to plan,” Kaif said.
Suryakumar Yadav and co. have been unbeaten in the tournament so far, having secured victories against the USA, Namibia, Pakistan and Netherlands in the group stage of the tournament. Their next big task begins on Sunday when they take on South Africa in what will be a re-run of the T20 World Cup 2024 final.
Predicted India Playing XI vs South Africa
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Bench: Sanju Samson (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar
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