Ahmed Shehzad did not limit his explosive attack to just the Indian batsmen but also criticized Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and accused him of having a personal grudge on the team dynamics. He accused Suryakumar Yadav of harboring a grudge against Kuldeep Yadav, which he said was the only reason behind his insult.
After Suryakumar Yadav-led India’s unexpected, humiliating defeat against South Africa in the first Super-8 game of Group A of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, several stories have emerged on the Indian team’s strategies and their lack of game awareness.
Despite Pakistan losing humiliatingly to the same Indian team, the Pakistani players did not shy away from taking a dig at the shortcomings of the Indian team which caused them to lose their first important game. Due to this defeat, it has become necessary for India to win both the remaining matches, which has had a huge impact on its net run rate.
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“Gautam Gambhir is not utilizing his full resources” – Ahmed Shehzad
Despite entering the World Cup Super-8, there are some strange changes happening in the Indian lineup. Gautam Gambhir left out veteran all-rounder Axar Patel from the match against South Africa only because Washington Sundar played the last match at the same venue where the South Africa match was scheduled.
This gamble did not go well for the Indian head coach, as Sundar failed to do anything with the ball and was a complete flop with the bat in the middle order. Just to mention, Axar Patel was India’s second highest scorer after Virat Kohli when India played the final against South Africa in 2024.
The former Pakistani batsman has also claimed that Gambhir is not utilizing the full resources available at his disposal. “Gautam Gambhir is not playing his sources well. “Kuldeep Yadav is your match-winner. I don’t know why he is out of the team,” Shehzad commented on a Pakistani show.
Shahzad accused captain Suryakumar Yadav of expressing personal displeasure over the dynamics of the team.
Citing the absence of specialist bowler Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian team, the Pakistani batsman pointed to an incident between Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and the bowler.
Although he claimed it was the match before the South Africa game, when he talked about the disagreement between the Indian captain and his bowler, he was talking about the match against Pakistan. This is the only match Kuldeep has played in this World Cup.
“If you would have watched the match before the last match, Kuldeep had argued with Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar Yadav then pushed him and showed his dissatisfaction against him. People have claimed that maybe he has been removed due to some recent disagreement with the Indian captain,” Shahzad said.
He made poor allegations against the Indian captain, saying, “He did not think about the country but put his personal grievance above all else; otherwise, Kuldeep would not have been dropped, especially with the diversity he brings with him.”
Ahmed Shehzad said, “Virat Kohli was the only player in the Indian team who knew how to play and when to play, that’s why he was the best. This current team led by Gambhir? They crumble under pressure, they have no awareness of the game and they are complete chokers.”pic.twitter.com/dnwEfGGe3f
-Salman. (@TsMeSalman) 24 February 2026
What are India’s plans for former T20 World Cup winner Kuldeep Yadav?
Even for any cricket expert, India’s plans regarding Kuldeep Yadav have not got off to the right start. People expected him to be a part of the eleven, especially as the World Cup was being played on the spin-friendly pitches of the subcontinent.
Kuldeep Yadav is India’s most experienced spinner in recent times and was part of the World Cup winning team in the Caribbean. He took 10 wickets in 5 matches he played in that World Cup, including the final match against South Africa.
However, given his flop form against New Zealand in the ODIs, he started being sidelined ahead of the World Cup, but Gambhir’s decision to drop Axar Patel also by an unforgivable margin is shocking.
ALSO READ: India are chokers without Virat Kohli: Ahmed Shehzad’s brutal attack on Abhishek Sharma & Co.
