India, Feb. 23 -- Team India's call to leave Axar Patel on the bench for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s match against South Africa backfired on Sunday as the defending champions faced a heavy 76-run defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Axar, the designated vice-captain, was made to sit out as the side preferred to have Washington Sundar in the playing XI just due to his favourable match-up against the left-handers. However, the all-rounder from Tamil Nadu failed to make any impact on the game, disappointing with both bat and ball.

Several fans and pundits criticised the decision to play Sundar ahead of Axar, and, to no one's surprise, the question of making this call was asked to Ryan ten Doeschate, the assistant coach, whe...