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Suryakumar Yadav-led India suffered a massive defeat against South Africa in their first Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It turned out to be India’s biggest defeat in T20 World Cup history.
After the match, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate addressed the media and shared his thoughts on the team combination. He admitted that Sanju Samson’s name is likely to come up in discussions over the next few days following the loss.
Will Samson feature against Zimbabwe?
When asked whether the team should continue backing the players who have performed well over the past 18 months or consider bringing Samson into the playing XI, especially with several teams trying part-time off-spinners at the top, ten Doeschate gave an honest response. He said that Sanju Samson would definitely become a talking point after this result.
"Sanju Samson will be a talking point in the next few days" India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told the press after India's defeat.
Pressure on Abhishek and Tilak?
He also revealed that Abhishek Sharma had been dealing with food poisoning. On top of that, the youngster was under pressure after getting out for three consecutive ducks earlier in the tournament. The coach acknowledged that these factors may have affected him.
"I don't want to make excuses for Abhishek or Tilak.. Abhi had a food poison. When you score 3 zeroes, it will obviously weight in. He looks short, and it is our job to make him get things right again. There's no point talking about rhythm in nets and all that, it is time to perform" added Doeschate
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