Suryakumar Yadav, Gautam Gambhir advised not to try six bowlers against West Indies in T20 World Cup 2026

Former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth has advised Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir not to overthink the sixth-bowler option when India face the West Indies. According to him, the current bowling combination is strong enough and does not need unnecessary changes.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth's advice to Indian management

India are set to play their final Super 8 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup against the West Indies on March 1 at Eden Gardens. With a crucial game ahead, Srikkanth feels the team should stick to its trusted bowlers instead of experimenting.

Looking ahead, Srikkanth believes the core group is strong enough, especially with players stepping up at the right time.

“I said that even after losing to South Africa, India would win in Chennai and would be on the road to win the cup. It is a gun team. Arshdeep bowling well, Bumrah bowling well, Varun and Hardik are decent. You will not need to try six bowlers against the West Indies. If needed, we can look into it when the semifinal comes,” he said.

Shivam Dube's outing vs Zimbabwe

His comments come after Shivam Dube had a difficult spell against Zimbabwe, where he conceded 46 runs in just two overs. Used as the sixth-bowling option by Suryakumar, Dube has delivered useful overs in the past. However, this time he struggled to find his rhythm.

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India in contention for the semifinals

Thankfully for India, net run rate was no longer important for their semi-final qualification. If it had been, those two expensive overs might have caused concern. Dube appeared off target, missing his line and length, bowling too wide outside off stump, and sending down four wides along with a couple of no-balls.

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Srikkanth questioned Dube's bowling vs Zimbabwe

Sharing his thoughts on that performance, Srikkanth said the pitch was good for batting and overall bowling was not a major worry. However, he was critical of Dube’s accuracy.

“I don’t think bowling is a concern. It was a good batting track. My only concern is the sixth bowler. Did you see where Dube was bowling? He was bowling on the sixth stump. I have not seen bowling like that,” he said on ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.

Srikkanth also explained that India had the cushion of a big total, which allowed them to give Dube a couple of overs without much risk.

“I think they had the luxury of runs behind them so they wanted to give some bowling practice. The question of net run rate was out of the window. It was just about winning the game,” he added.