Only four players show up for the practice session before the big match in South Africa
In a surprising scene at the Narendra Modi Stadium, only four players turned up for the optional practice session with head coach Gautam Gambhir and other support staff conducting the camp on Saturday, February 21, as reported by journalists from India Today and Jagran News.
Just four players in training have certainly started a major debate, with many wondering whether the Men in Blue have become overconfident after winning all four of their group stage matches against the USA, Pakistan, Namibia and the Netherlands.
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Kuldeep Yadav was seen bowling in the nets for the crucial match against South Africa. The wrist spinner bowled mainly to Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh. Both left-handers looked focused and hungry at the nets. Ishan was particularly aggressive.
Gautam Gambhir watches closely as Rinku Singh tries something different
Ishan hit the ball with full force and tried to hit it straight on the ground. There was a lot of discussion about ‘hitting in the V’, which means playing mid to middle shots. The team management clearly wants a clean and powerful game in the Super 8 round.
Rinku Singh also played an interesting role in India’s optional training. After batting, the finisher even tried some round-arm bowling in the nets ahead of the match in South Africa.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav was also present at the session, but mostly relaxed and observed the action. Meanwhile, Gambhir kept a close eye on Kishan’s batting.
Only four players in India are practicing today.
Kuldeep bowls for Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan.
Suryakumar Yadav is hanging around.#INDvsSA #T20World Cup pic.twitter.com/fgIqaj3Klo
—Kingshuk Kusari (@KusariKingshuk) February 21, 2026
Gautam Gambhir is keeping a close eye on Ishan Kishan.
There is a lot of talk about hitting in the V.
Ishan hits the balls with fierce force.#T20World Cup @ITGDsports pic.twitter.com/jhsdA3MIdV
—Kingshuk Kusari (@KusariKingshuk) February 21, 2026
Optional practice session has begun. Only 4 players have registered. Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh are now batting. pic.twitter.com/L5GbN2urDX
— Vimal Kumar (@Vimalwa) February 21, 2026
India storms into the Super 8 undefeated
Meanwhile, India enters the Super 8 stadium in strong style. They won all four matches in Group A and finished top of the table. Their campaign looks perfect, but there are some serious concerns. The biggest concern is Abhishek Sharma.
Also read: Gautam Gambhir has an intense conversation with Abhishek Sharma in Ahmedabad
He came into this tournament as the No. 1 ranked T20I batsman in the world. Everyone expected him to give India strong starts, but he shocked everyone with three ducks, increasing the pressure on the rest of the top order. Another problem is the way batters play against off-spin bowling.
Left heavy hitting setup under scanner
The top order has a lot of left-handed batters like Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, and other teams use off-spinners early in the innings. The Indian batters failed to score runs quickly against the off-spinner, and many players lost their wickets to them.
India’s fielding has not been great as they have dropped around two to three catches in almost every match. In a major tournament, these mistakes can cost you matches. It showed some confusion and lack of communication on the field. Now they all have to solve these problems to get through the Super 8 stage.
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