Top 5 most costly mistakes by India in T20 World Cup history

Some major mistakes have hampered India’s journey in the T20 World Cup over the years.

India etched their name in the record books by winning the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. They repeated their heroics in the 2024 edition, where Rohit Sharma led the team to their second trophy in the tournament’s history.

Over the years, India have showcased impressive performances in the T20 World Cup except for the 2021 edition, where they suffered a first-round exit. In a few editions, they were the red-hot favourites to win the trophy, but their journey ended due to big mistakes committed by the team.

On that note, below are the five most costly mistakes by India in T20 World Cup history.

India’s costliest mistakes in the T20 World Cup-

5. Sending Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj Singh (IND vs ENG, T20 WC 2009)

In the 2009 T20 World Cup, India lost their opening game against the West Indies in the Super 8 round and had a must-win game against England. The MS Dhoni & Co. restricted the Paul Collingwood-led side to 153/7 in the first innings.

In the chase, the Men-in-Blue suffered a big blow at the start as they were reduced to 24/2 in the fourth over. Instead of sending in-form batter Yuvraj Singh at number four, they sent inexperienced Ravindra Jadeja.

The decision turned out to be a blunder as Jadeja could only score 35-ball 25, scoring just one boundary in his innings. Yuvraj came out to bat in the 11th over, but he became helpless as the required rate was nine runs per over at that time.

He scored 9-ball-17 before losing his wicket in the 14th over. Later, MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan made brilliant efforts, but India remained short of three runs for victory.

4. Promoting Irfan Pathan as opener (IND vs AUS, T20 WC 2012)

In the 2012 edition, India started their stint brilliantly with back-to-back victories against England and Afghanistan in the first round. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were the openers. However, this combination forced skipper MS Dhoni to use Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma in the bowling.

Hence, ahead of the game against Australia in the second round, they promoted Irfan Pathan as an opener and dropped Sehwag so that an extra spinner, Harbhajan Singh, could be added to the playing XI. However, Pathan completely flopped as an opener, scoring 31 runs off 30 deliveries as India ended with a dismal 140/7.

Australia chased down the target like a walk in the park. Following the debacle, Sehwag was reinstated as an opener, and India also won their next two matches against Pakistan and South Africa.

Eventually, Australia, Pakistan, and India ended with four points each in their group. However, the Men-in-Blue failed to make it to the semi-finals based on their low Net Run Rate (NRR).

3. Shuffling Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s batting position (IND vs NZ, T20 WC 2021)

After losing their opening game against Pakistan by 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2021, India were under immense pressure in a must-win game against New Zealand. India’s crucial batter Suryakumar Yadav was ruled out of the match due to a back spasm. As a result, Virat Kohli & Co. had to add Ishan Kishan to the playing XI.

As Kishan was an opening batsman, Rohit Sharma moved to the one-down position and Virat Kohli took the No. 4 slot. However, Kishan got out for just four runs in the match. Rohit and Kohli also suffered batting woes at new positions, getting out for 14 and 9, respectively.

Due to the shuffle in batting order, India made a dismal start and reached 48/10 in the first 10 overs. They ended with 110/7 in the first innings, which New Zealand chased like a walk in the park by eight wickets.

2. Overlooking Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20 WC 2021 squad

T20 World Cup 2021 is the only edition of the tournament when India suffered a humiliating first-round exit. The tournament followed the second leg of IPL 2021 and was played at the same venue in the UAE.

At the time, Yuzvendra Chahal was India’s frontline spinner in the shortest format and also performed brilliantly in the UAE leg of IPL 2021.

However, selectors overlooked him in the T20I squad and went ahead with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, and Varun Chakravarthy in the spin department. Both Chahar and Chakravarthy were far too inexperienced for the big tournament and were dominated by opposition teams.

1. Picking Washington Sundar over Axar Patel (IND vs SA, T20 WC 2026)

India made a brilliant start in the T20 World Cup 2026, winning all four matches in the league stage. However, their winning streak was short-lived as they faced a defeat in the first game of the Super 8 Round against South Africa.

The Suryakumar Yadav & Co. went ahead with Washington Sundar over Axar Patel in the playing XI, to utilise the former against left-handed batters like Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, and David Miller.

However, the move backfired as de Kock and Rickelton lost their wickets at the start against seamers. Sundar was only allowed to bowl two overs, where he leaked 17 runs and remained wicketless. He got out for 11 runs as India desperately missed Axar’s services with both bat and ball.

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