India, Feb. 23 -- More and more voices are rising against the decision to leave out Axar Patel on the bench for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s match against South Africa on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The team management, headed by coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav, decided to prefer Washington Sundar ahead of Axar, a move heavily dictated by the presence of three left-handers in South Africa's top five. However, Washington failed to rise to the occasion, giving an underwhelming performance.

Ajinkya Rahane is the latest cricketer to make his displeasure known with the call to drop Axar, saying it made no sense. In the match against the Proteas, Jasprit Bumrah removed both Quinton de Kock and Ryan Ri...