The Aryavarth Express
Mumbai: Childhood coaches of Suryakumar Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav have raised concerns over India’s bowling performance in the semifinal of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 against England national cricket team on Thursday. Although India secured a narrow victory, the coaches pointed out that the bowling unit struggled to control the flow of runs during the high-scoring encounter.
Defending champions India national cricket team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, defeated England by seven runs to reach the tournament final against New Zealand national cricket team.
India posted a massive 253/7 in 20 overs, powered by a blistering 89 off 42 balls from Sanju Samson. England remained in the hunt for most of the chase thanks to a brilliant century by Jacob Bethell. However, the turning point came with a crucial spell from Jasprit Bumrah, whose disciplined 18th over helped India hold their nerve and seal a thrilling win.
Speaking to ANI, Suryakumar Yadav’s childhood coach Ashok Aswalkar said that despite the win, India’s bowling looked weak even after posting such a huge total. He suggested that the team should rethink its bowling strategy for the final and consider bringing Kuldeep Yadav into the playing XI instead of Varun Chakravarthy due to the latter’s recent form.
Aswalkar noted that India did not appear fully confident of defending 253 runs and emphasised that new planning and possible team changes would be required ahead of the final against New Zealand.
Kuldeep Yadav’s childhood coach Kapil Pandey also acknowledged the importance of the victory but highlighted similar concerns about the bowling attack. He praised India’s batting effort, particularly contributions from Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya, which helped the team reach a huge total.
Pandey added that England’s aggressive batting was unexpected and that India’s bowlers struggled, resulting in a narrow seven-run victory.
Batting first, India built their innings around Samson’s explosive knock, supported by valuable contributions from Shivam Dube (43 off 25 balls), Ishan Kishan (39 off 18 balls), Hardik Pandya (27 off 12 balls) and Tilak Varma (21 off 7 balls).
During the chase, England slipped to 95/4, but a counter-attacking 77-run partnership between Jacob Bethell (105 off 48 balls) and Will Jacks (35 off 20 balls) kept them in the contest.
With England needing 45 runs from the last three overs, Bumrah delivered a tight 18th over, conceding just six runs. Pandya followed with an impressive penultimate over, dismissing Sam Curran and conceding only nine runs.
Despite a late surge, including a quick cameo from Jofra Archer, England finished at 246/7, falling just seven runs short.
For India, Bumrah (1/33), Axar Patel (1/35) and Hardik Pandya (2/38) were the standout performers with the ball.
The final of the tournament will be played on March 8 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where India will aim to defeat New Zealand and clinch another ICC title.
