3 min readFeb 19, 2026 09:00 AM IST
Though India have notched up four out of four wins in their T20 World Cup 2026 group stage campaign to secure a berth in the Super 8s, there is a glaring area of concern that has persisted with Suryakumar Yadav’s unit for a considerable period of time now.
While they have not produced clinical efforts with the bat and ball to see off their Group A opponents, the Men in Blue’s sloppy fielding efforts are particularly concerning for former India pacer Varun Aaron as the team heads into the last-eight stage of the title defence.
India pipped the Netherlands by 17 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday to wrap up the first head and Aaron said that the fielding department will be watched closely as the team enters the Super 8s. Aaron labelled India among the poorest catching units in the world since last year, claiming that the side drops at least two catches every game.
“Massive problem. India is by far the worst catching team in the last 12 months or maybe 18 months. Their catching percentage is below 70. Every match they drop at least 2-3 catches. I just hope that they don’t drop important catches come the Super 8 and the semifinals,” Aaron said in a chat on ESPNcricinfo.
Moments that had Indian fans’ hearts in their mouths 🥶
ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup SUPER 8 | #INDvSA 👉 SUN, 22nd FEB, 6 PM pic.twitter.com/m3Ulc9SzRp
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 18, 2026
Even the match against the Dutch had India spill a few chances, including a near-collision between captain Suryakumar and Rinku Singh in the final over of the match. Defending 28 in the final over, Shivam Dube’s floating length ball outside off was skied up over by Zach Lion-Cachet. Back-pedalling from extra cover, Suryakumar bumped into Rinku who was in running in from long-off, with the ball thumping and bouncing off the captain’s chest. Luckily, there were no injury concerns.
India opted to bat first in their last league game with captain Suryakumar insisting that he wanted to test the bowlers under dewy conditions in Ahmedabad, also the venue of their first Super 8 match against South Africa on Sunday.
“We went on to score 190 and then coming out, there was a little bit of dew, a little bit challenging for the bowlers, but all in all, at the end of the day, very happy. Yeah, I mean, we might be in a similar situation on the next day also. We might get a slow start, but it’s very important for all the batters to understand what the responsibility is, how the wicket is playing in the middle overs. And then, later on, we have enough firepower with Hardik, Shivam, Rinku, Axar or Washi, anyone to finish the game nicely,” Suryakumar said in the post-match chat.
