In a harsh assessment of the Suryakumar Yadav-led squad's crushing defeat to South Africa in the T20 World Cup Super 8 match, former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri did not mince words. India lost by 76 runs in Ahmedabad after being thoroughly outplayed. Shastri was "glad" that the defeat occurred early in the competition and ideally not near the finish, even if it made India's path to the semifinals extremely difficult. He continued by saying that India would recover from the defeat and that they should take lessons from it.

In fact, I'm relieved it happened early, particularly against a team that is predicted to advance to the semifinals anyhow. It could be exactly what India needed to shake things up. Additionally, it might compel them to reconsider their future tactics and side makeup. They will undoubtedly recover. They wouldn't take things for granted because they would have learned from that experience. He stated on the ICC Review, "If you lose another game in the Super 8, you're really putting yourself under serious pressure."
The decision to bench Axar Patel in the game against South Africa because to Washington Sundar's poor performance was also a topic of much discussion.Shastri recommended that Axar play with Washington if necessary and be included in the match against Zimbabwe.
"I believe they must return him. That experience is necessary for you. Since one bowler will inevitably have a bad day on any given day, I would advise you to play both if you can and offer yourself that extra option. Varun Chakravarthy, for instance, was not at his best yesterday and suffered as a result. You therefore require that backup.
That makes your No. 8 stronger. Axar Patel may bat at eight if he's playing. Washington Sundar is at seven, Axar is at eight, Shivam Dube is at six, and Hardik Pandya is at five. "If necessary, Axar can even bat at five," he stated.

Shastri thinks the management of the squad will have to make the difficult decision to bench Rinku Singh if both Axar and Washington play against Zimbabwe.
"In T20 cricket, especially with that type of firepower, something is amiss if eight batsmen are unable to complete the task. You're failing to provide yourself that additional bowling option, which is crucial, in my opinion. Rinku Singh might be left out, but if he does in, it should be to replace a specialist hitter.