Defending champions India will take on the Netherlands in their final Group A match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India have already qualified for the Super Eight stage after wins over the United States, Namibia and Pakistan. The 61-run thumping of Pakistan in Colombo booked their place in the next round.
India assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak said the team is unlikely to experiment much and would rather maintain the status quo against the Netherlands to continue building momentum heading into the Super Eight stage. He said they may consider a change or two based on conditions, but not because the match is unimportant.
“I don’t think there’ll be an experiment or anything. But yes, looking at the wicket and conditions, there might be something different. But I don’t really think that we look at it as a game which is not important, because every game is important and the team wants to stay in the same momentum”, Kotak said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Netherlands clash.
“So for us, I don’t think we see it as a less-pressure game or a more-pressure game. We played the last game with the same intent, and I think we will play the next game with the same intent as well”, the assistant coach added.
Kotak also played down concerns over weather interruptions and said the team will approach every match seriously as, in T20 cricket, any side can beat anyone.
“Honestly, I have not checked the weather forecast, so I don’t know. It’s very difficult to comment, but one thing is clear: even if it rains, points-table wise, I don’t think it will affect us”, he said.
“From the start of this World Cup, we have seen that in T20 matches, any team can beat anybody. So that’s why every game we approach as an important game. They have some very good players as well, so we will just try to play good cricket,” Kotak added.
Kotak also brushed aside suggestions that opposition bowlers have found out opener Abhishek Sharma after his early dismissals, saying the team avoids overanalysing individuals. He added that the batter had been unwell in the previous match.
“Obviously, we plan, yes. But he wasn’t well, so he didn’t play. Last game, he got out in the first over. One thing we definitely do is not overanalyse unnecessarily, because sometimes you start making more assumptions than the opposition does”, he said.
“He has his plans sorted and follows his method. We discuss the opposition bowling and strengths — that’s normal for everyone, not only for Abhishek,” Kotak added.
The Netherlands, captained by Scott Edwards, have struggled for consistency and are already out of contention after managing one win in three matches. They will aim to finish their campaign on a positive note.
India and the Netherlands have met only once in T20 internationals, with India registering a 56-run victory at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Sydney.
-IANS
