T20 World Cup 2026: Ten Doeschate admits India’s spin vulnerability as Super Eight looms

Even as India ended its T20 World Cup group stage campaign with a 17-run win over the Netherlands here on Wednesday, there was an unease despite the defending champion’s unbeaten run.

The apprehension stemmed from the host’s poor handling of spin, particularly against weaker sides such as Namibia and the Netherlands. While the left-arm spin of Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus (4/20) kept the Indian batters on a leash in Delhi, Aryan Dutt’s off-spin accounted for marauding openers Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan inside the PowerPlay in Ahmedabad.

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that its vulnerability against finger-spin was an area the team would need to address urgently.

“It is something we will have to focus on, looking at the amount of finger-spin we will face in the next three games. It will be important that we dominate that phase of the game,” he said.

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Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Sikandar Raza, Akeal Hosein and Roston Chase are some of the finger-spinners the Men in Blue will be up against in the Super Eights.

India has lost 15 of its 31 wickets in this tournament to finger-spinners and has the second-lowest cumulative average (16.4) against them. Its run rate against finger-spin is a mere 7.23, the lowest amongst Test-playing nations in the competition.

Ten Doeschate feels that the Indian batters’ unfamiliarity with playing on surfaces that aid the spinners has accentuated this grim trend.

“The wickets we played bilateral series on, over the last 18 months, have been really good. As soon as you come to a wicket that does offer a bit of hold, it becomes a bit of a challenge. It might look like it is a short-term challenge, but on better wickets, you will see that you can hit through the line with more confidence. The point is, we need to have plans when the wickets do hold, and when the boundaries are bigger. We need to have a game plan to deal with that threat.”

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India will begin its Super Eight campaign against South Africa on Sunday in Ahmedabad, before taking on Zimbabwe in Chennai on February 26, and West Indies in Kolkata on March 1.

Published on Feb 19, 2026