Former Indian pacer Balwinder Singh Sandhu criticised India’s performance after the Men in Blue suffered a 76-run loss against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Sunday. India’s heavy loss has put their semifinal qualification at risk as their NRR took a massive hit.

Sandhu, the 1983 World Cup-winning player, believes India were not prepared and it was palpable on the field. India was bowled out for 111 in the run chase of 188 as they could not deliver with the bat. Shivam Dube scored 42 runs, but none of the other batters could show any fight.

Sandhu wrote in his column for Mid-Day, “When you’ve done your homework, you feel confident. The mind stays calm. You don’t panic when faced with the unexpected. India can still do it, but the headmaster must be worthy of the chair, and not a backdoor entry. It’s a wake-up call. A reminder that back-door entries don’t work at this level.”

The former swing bowler reckons sometimes a loss like this is needed for the team. This was India’s first loss after 12 consecutive wins in the T20 World Cup.

“Sometimes a loss like this is needed. It lets the air out of the overblown system. It punctures inflated egos. Handling pressure is not easy. When you raise expectations — your own and those of millions of Indian fans — living up to them becomes an uphill task. And sometimes, the rub of the green hurts more than just dirtying your clothes.”

Meanwhile, India has adopted a fearless approach but Sandhu opined that it doesn’t mean the players can play recklessly.

“Everyone talks about playing fearless cricket. Fully padded up, all the protection in place, physio ready to run in if someone even sneezes. So the boys go out and start swinging. Shot selection? Forget it. Just hit. But fearless cricket does not mean reckless cricket. You still need someone sensible in the middle. Someone who understands the game situation,” said Sandhu (via the aforementioned source).