The Indian team did not reach the final unscathed. They had to switch to plan B as the struggles against off-spin led to a comprehensive loss against South Africa. The quick fix by brining Sanju Samson back in the side worked well for India. Ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 final, Suryakumar Yadav remains unfazed by the off-spin issue. In addition to losing wickets against them, the strike rate has hovered around 120. But, Suryakumar is happy with the way things going, not worried about the off-spin options New Zealand have in their lineup.
“We haven’t discussed it at all. If we reached the final with a strike rate around 120 then I’m comfortable continuing that way. The team isn’t worried about it,” Suryakumar said in the pre-match press conference.
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“On a given day, if any batter does well against a particular bowler, then it's important to do that and do what the team requires. In the last game too, we saw there were two lefties against an offspinner but we batted well - Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube and even Tilak Varma. At this stage, I don't think we need to think about it too much. If in the final if they bring on two spinners then we have to face them and I'm sure we'll handle it," he added.
The Kiwi spin threat
Against South Africa, Cole McConchie opened the bowling from the other end. He got rid of left-handed batters Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton off consecutive deliveries. New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner may use a similar tactic if Abhishek Sharma gets the nod despite lack of runs under his belt in this edition.
For the right-handed batters, the Kiwi lineup has skipper Santner and Rachin Ravindra. Santner was wicketless but conceded 25 runs from his quota of four overs against the Proteas. Ravindra has not been potent with the bat, but he has delivered with off-spin. In the semifinal, he got the wickets of skipper Aiden Markram and David Miller. In addition, they have Glenn Phillips in the side as well who can trouble Indian batters.