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Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed South Africa's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign by calling them the 'stupidest team' in the showpiece event. Vaughan reckons that South Africa made a big mistake that eventually helped India go on to win the title.
According to him, if South Africa had lost to the West Indies in their Super 8 match, India might have struggled to reach the semi-finals and could even have been knocked out of the tournament.
How India sealed T20 World Cup 2026 final berth?
During the Super 8 stage, India suffered a heavy 76-run defeat against South Africa. That loss put Suryakumar Yadav’s team in a difficult position, as they needed to win their remaining matches against Zimbabwe and West Indies to stay in the race.
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India first managed to beat Zimbabwe, but they were also keeping a close eye on the South Africa vs West Indies game in Ahmedabad. South Africa ended up dominating the match and comfortably defeated the West Indies, securing their own semi-final spot. Their win also meant that India’s next game against the two-time champions became a must-win contest, almost like a quarterfinal, in Kolkata.
India went on to win that crucial match against West Indies. They then defeated England in the semi-final before eventually lifting the trophy. South Africa, meanwhile, were knocked out after losing to New Zealand in the semi-final.
Why Vaughan label South Africa as stupidest team?
“I tell you, who I think is the stupidest team of the tournament? South Africa. Because if South Africa had allowed the West Indies to beat them in the Super 8s, India would have been knocked out. I’m just saying – if they had cleared them out, the juggernaut that was coming would have stopped,” Vaughan said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
“By winning that game, they allowed the juggernaut to go on. India then beat Zimbabwe, then the West Indies in a kind of quarterfinal, and then England. South Africa had to play Zimbabwe next, and they even rested three players for that match," he added.
Vaughan also shared his view on how teams should approach big tournaments like the World Cup.
"Look, these things shouldn’t happen and usually don’t happen. I’m just saying that if you want to win a World Cup, the best way is to eliminate the best team early,” Vaughan said.
How South Africa T20 World Cup 2026 campaign ended?
If South Africa had lost to West Indies, their qualification for the semi-finals would have depended on their final Super 8 match against Zimbabwe, which could have made things difficult for them. In the end, South Africa were heavily beaten by New Zealand in the semi-final
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