Why Axar Patel is Not Playing Today in IND vs SA T20 World Cup Match?

The two table-toppers from their respective groups, India and South Africa, are facing each other in the 43rd game of this T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The Indian team has been unbeaten till now, winning all four group stage matches. On the other hand, the Proteas are not lagging behind as they are yet to face a defeat as well.

The toss between Suryakumar Yadav and Aiden Markram has already been done for the IND vs SA T20 World Cup 2026 match. It is the South African captain who won the toss and decided to bat first. As per the regulations, both the captains announced their playing XI, and there was a huge change with Axar Patel's absence from this match.

Why Axar Patel is Not Playing Today in IND vs SA T20 World Cup Match?

Benching the vice captain of the team in such a huge game is something no one would have thought of. However, right after the toss, the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav revealed that it was a tactical change. The Indian team has gone with the same combination as they chose Washington Sundar as Axar Patel replacement.

Keeping Sundar for this game might have been due to the presence of too many left-handers in South Africa's batting order like Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, and David Miller. All of them are among the most dangerous batsmen in the world and can take on a left-arm spinner quite easily.

All-rounder Washington Sundar might have a crucial role to play in this game with his off-spin bowling, which is why he might have been preferred over Axar Patel for this match. Playing his second match of the campaign, Washington wasn't able to create any impact as he went for 0-36 in four overs. He wasn't able to score many runs with the bat as well and was dismissed for just 11.

Axar Patel in Good Form

Axar Patel is arguably one of the best all-rounders in the world. He played three matches in ICC T20 World Cup before getting benched, taking 6 wickets with an excellent economy of 6.63. He returned excellent figures of 2-29 in four overs in the game against Pakistan.

The move to trust Sundar over Axar drew a lot of backlash on social media as the users questioned India's strategy in such a crucial game. It is likely that Axar will be back in India's playing 11 for the next match since the Sundar experiment failed miserably this time around.