Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has done it again. Days after labelling Abhishek Sharma as just a “slogger”, the left-arm speedster has now taken aim at the entire Indian team, predicting that the defending champions would not be able to make it to the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals. Suryakumar Yadav’s India, who have been undefeated in the last three ICC events, won’t be able to make it out of the Super 8s Group A, according to Amir.
India defeated the Netherlands in their last group stage match on Wednesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, progressing to the Super 8s without dropping a single match so far in the tenth edition of the T20 World Cup. However, the performance has been far from pitch-perfect, with the batting side leaving much to be desired.
For starters, Abhishek Sharma is yet to open his account in the tournament, registering three ducks. Looking at how India’s batting has gone in the competition, Amir said that teams like South Africa and the West Indies can take full advantage of India’s shortcomings.
India’s Super 8s group features South Africa, the West Indies and Zimbabwe. During the ‘Haarna Mana Hai’ show, the anchor asked Amir about his semi-final predictions from Group A of the Super 8s and to this, he replied, “South Africa and the West Indies.”
When the anchor said that he doesn’t think India would make it to the last four, Amir shook his head vehemently.
“If you see their matches, the batting collapsed in all the games, barring the Pakistan contest. The pressure will rise in the Super 8 matches. The way in which South Africa and the West Indies have been playing, they can beat any team,” Amir said while explaining why he doesn’t think India would make it to the semi-finals.
India’s Super 8s schedule
India will begin their Super 8s campaign on Sunday, February 22, against South Africa in Ahmedabad. The side will then travel to Chennai to take on Sikandar Raza’s Zimbabwe on Thursday, February 26.
India’s final Super 8s match will be played on March 1 against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Speaking of the other group in the Super 8s, Pakistan, New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka will fight it out for two semi-final spots. Amir picked Pakistan and New Zealand as the two teams that will make it out of Group B to make it to the last four.
The Super8s contest will get underway on Saturday, February 21, in Colombo when Pakistan will face New Zealand at the R Premadasa Stadium.
