Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa warned Gautam Gambhir over the form of the side's top batters in T20Is heading into the 2026 World Cup. As of recent, Gambhir's comments regarding batting-orders have come under the scanner. The India head coach even went on to say that batting orders are overrated when it comes to white-ball cricket.
Uthappa feels that these comments can go on to backfire big time if the Indian batters do not perform well in the 2026 T20 World Cup. He pointed out how it was Hardik Pandya's exceptional knock of 59 that bailed them out in the first T20I against South Africa and got them to a respectable total. He also went on to express concern on the form of Indian batters.
“If this goes south, it’ll backfire on both Surya and Gautam Gambhir. And people are anyway gunning for his (Gambhir )head. You can’t go into a World Cup as the defending champions with your main batters not in good form. In the first T20I, Hardik saved the skins out of India’s innings. If it wasn’t for him, we would have been 30-40 runs off that total and that’s a 130. Those things concern me,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.
Uthappa's warning for Suryakumar
Uthappa also had a big warning in store for Suryakumar, remarking that even though he is currently a successful captain and has a great record, he can still be under huge pressure if his batting form deteriorates any further and if the team doesn't perform well in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“Today it’s not affecting him because India is winning matches. He’s one of the most successful Indian captain right now with an 85 win percentage. But if that drops over the next nine games, then it starts impacting his batting and it starts impacting how he leads on the field as well. India is leading into a World Cup at home where you want to have your main batters in really good form, especially when you are defending champions,” Uthappa stated.
India begin series on a high
Meanwhile, India took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa. The Men in Blue bundled out the visitors for just 74 runs, handing them a 101-run defeat to begin the important assignment on a strong note. They will be looking to maintain their red-hot form in the shortest format in the second T20I that will be held at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in Punjab on December 11.