3 Indian players who underperformed the most in the group stage of T20 World Cup 2026 ft. Tilak Verma

India won against Netherlands by 17 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 18. This was their last match in Group A of the T20 World Cup 2026. India batted first and scored 193 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. Then they stopped Netherlands from winning. Netherlands scored 176 runs for 7 wickets. Shivam Dube scored the most runs for India with 66 runs from 31 balls. Varun Chakaravarthy took 3 wickets and gave only 14 runs.

With this win, India finished at the top of Group A. They won all four matches. They beat USA by 29 runs in Mumbai, Namibia by 93 runs in Delhi, and Pakistan by 61 runs in Colombo.

Many players played well in the group stage, but some players did not play good cricket. Here, we look at three Indian players who did not do well in the group stage of T20 World Cup 2026.

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3. Rinku Singh

Rinku Singh was chosen in India’s T20 World Cup team instead of Shubman Gill. The team wanted him to finish matches strongly. But he has not played well. In 27 balls, he scored only 24 runs. He hit just one four and two sixes.

In the first two matches, he got chances to bat but failed. Against USA, he scored 6 runs and got out. Against Namibia, he scored 1 run and got caught. The team expected more from him.

2. Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma missed some matches before the World Cup because of surgery. People thought he might be slow at batting. Sadly, he has not done well. In four matches, he scored 106 runs. His average is 26.50 and strike rate is 120.45. His best score is 31.

He bats at No. 3, which is an important position. Some experts think Suryakumar Yadav should bat there instead. Coach Sanjay Bangar said Varma’s batting style might be making it harder for him. In the Super 8, people will watch him closely.

1. Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma has not scored any runs in the group matches. He played three times and got out for 0 each time.

The way he got out is worrying. Against USA, he hit the ball straight to a fielder. Against Pakistan, he mis-hit the ball. Against Netherlands, he swung and got bowled.

Abhishek has done well before with this style, but India cannot have him fail in the Super 8. Experts say he should play a few safe balls first, then try to hit big.