Suryakumar Yadav Ordered To Follow Rohit Sharma Over Jasprit Bumrah Management

Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma (Source:X)

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has criticised captain Suryakumar Yadav for not using pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah effectively during India's Super 8 match against the South Africa in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

India suffered a heavy 76-run defeat, ending their unbeaten streak in the tournament. While Jasprit Bumrah was the standout bowler with impressive figures of 3/15 in his four overs, Mohammad Kaif believes the timing of his spells cost India the match.

Suryakumar Yadav's tactical call on Jasprit Bumrah backfires

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Mohammad Kaif said India lost control of the game between the 7th and 15th overs. During this phase, South Africa built a strong partnership that shifted the momentum firmly in their favour.

He pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav did not use Bumrah well during these crucial middle overs to break the stand.

Kaif also indirectly compared Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy and Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in context to the usage of Jasprit Bumrah.

According to the former player, Rohit Sharma always used Jasprit Bumrah smartly by bringing him back during the middle overs to break partnerships.

"We lost the match between the 7th and 15th over. You used Bumrah's two overs early and kept the remaining two for the death. But Rohit Sharma never used Bumrah like this," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif also stated that if Bumrah had bowled one over around the 11th or 12th over, he could have broken the partnership and slowed down the scoring rate.

"He bowled one over in the middle to break a partnership. There is a big gap between his spells. There is no bigger match-winner in this team than Bumrah. They need to bowl him for just one over in the powerplay, and then get him to bowl the 11th or 12th," he added.

Jasprit Bumrah's performance in T20 World Cup so far

It is important to mention that Jasprit Bumrah bowled two overs in the powerplay and made an immediate impact by dismissing Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton. However, after his second over, he was not brought back until the 17th over of the innings.

By then, South Africa were comfortably placed at 152/5, with South Africa batters well set.

Taking a look at Bumrah's overall performance in the T20 World Cup so far, the ace pacer has played 4 innings and scalped 7 wickets at an economy-rate of 5.31. His best performance came against South Africa, taking 3 wickets and conceding 15 runs.

India's semi-final hopes complicated after defeat vs SA

The defeat against South Africa has made India’s road to the semi-finals much tougher. With this loss, India’s net run rate has dropped significantly (-3.800). Now, they must win their remaining Super 8 matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies by big margins to stay in contention.

The 'Men in Blue' not only do they need victories, but they also have to improve their net run rate to secure a semi-final spot.