India, Feb. 23 -- Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin couldn't understand the rationale behind dropping Axar Patel for the crucial T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s tie against South Africa on Sunday. The team management decided to stick with Washington Sundar in the playing XI owing to his favourable match-up against the left-handers. However, the 26-year-old wasn't able to do anything substantial in the game, conceding 17 runs in the two overs he bowled. He was all the more disappointing with the bat, scoring just 11 runs despite coming at No.5, ahead of Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.

After India's 76-run defeat against South Africa, Ashwin stated that while match-up chatter can be useful when discussing the Indian Premier ...