India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (ANI Photo)

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a swipe at head coach Gautam Gambhir following India’s crushing 76-run defeat to South Africa national cricket team in their Super 8 opener of the T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad. The loss, the heaviest ever for India in T20 World Cup history, has pushed the defending champions to the edge of elimination and severely dented their net run rate. Widely backed to become the first side to successfully defend a T20 World Cup crown, the Suryakumar Yadav-led outfit now face must-win games to stay alive in the tournament.

Manjrekar questioned several tactical decisions, particularly the elevation of Washington Sundar to No. 5 during India’s unsuccessful chase of 188 after early wickets. The move came after Sundar was preferred over vice-captain Axar Patel, a selection that had already sparked debate, though team management described it as a tactical call. Speaking on Stump Mic on CNN-News18, Manjrekar used a pointed analogy to describe Sundar’s expanding role in the XI. “Kailas Jeevan, there used to be a medicine by that name back in the day. If you had a headache, you would use it. If you had a stomach issue, you would take it. It was an all-in-one remedy. Gautam Gambhir seems to have an all-in-one solution for everything too, Washington Sundar,” Manjrekar said on CNN-News18’s Stump Mic while analysing India’s batting performance. “If there’s a batting problem, Washi. If there’s a bowling problem, Washi. He was promoted up the order to No. 5 today, and then Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya walked in at No. 7. It was just too much,” he added. South Africa capitalised on India’s vulnerability against changes of pace, with Lungi Ngidi troubling the batters through well-disguised slower deliveries. Manjrekar stressed that this area requires urgent attention, singling out captain Suryakumar Yadav. “Forget fast bowling, focus on playing the slower balls. They are not able to handle slower balls or spinners. The captain is struggling the most against slower deliveries,” he said. India now turn their focus to a decisive clash against Zimbabwe national cricket team. Not only must they win to keep their semi-final hopes intact, but they will also need a comprehensive victory to repair the damage inflicted on their net run rate in Ahmedabad.

Kuldeep Yadav (R) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav. (ANI Photo)

NEW DELHI: India’s heavy defeat to South Africa in the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has triggered a blunt reality check, with former batter Sanjay Manjrekar urging the side to “be humble” and quickly address key flaws to stay in title contention.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!A dominant South Africa piled up 187/7 before bundling India out for just 111. The crushing loss not only dented India’s momentum but also exposed glaring tactical and technical weaknesses.

Reflecting on the defeat, Manjrekar said on his Instagram post, “A big defeat to India against South Africa. So, the first strong team that India has played, and they have not really coped well against that team. But the good news is that India is not out of the tournament.”He added that the loss could serve as a blessing in disguise if India respond correctly.“So what South Africa have done – and we have to be humble and respect the opposition and in a way thank them – is that they have shown us three areas of improvement that we can still work on and end up getting into the final rounds and hopefully win the title,” he said.Manjrekar identified India’s struggles against spin as the most pressing concern and called for a batting order reshuffle.“The first area of concern is an obvious one: India is struggling against spin. So how do you solve that? Try to rearrange the batting order in a way that naturally good players of spin are batting up the order, and people like Tilak Varma, who is struggling a little bit, can come down the order,” he said. He also flagged the team’s vulnerability against pace-off deliveries, including from captain Suryakumar Yadav.“The other thing which was glaring in this game against South Africa was even the pace bowlers, when they take the pace off, Indian batters are struggling. The captain seemed like the one who struggled most now when the pace is taken off.”Manjrekar further stressed the need to strengthen the bowling attack rather than adding extra batting depth.“The third is an easily solvable problem. When the batting is uncertain, not firing, very often you try and get more batting depth. There’s another way to cover that weakness, and that is by having a stronger bowling attack. So get Kuldeep Yadav in.”“So yes, try and make a change that is possible and immediately effective, and then work on the more complex problems… If done quickly, India still have a great chance of getting into the final rounds,” he concluded.