Team India ‘not bothered’ by Australia’s early T20 World Cup exit: ‘We knew it would be tough’
Here’s what India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak had to say about Australia’s early exit from the T20 World Cup.
India‘s road to the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals got slightly easier on Tuesday after Australia was knocked out in the group stage. Had Mitchell Marsh’s side qualified for the next round, then Australia would have joined India, South Africa and the West Indies in the Super 8s group. Out of these four teams, every side would have had a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals. However, with Australia out, Zimbabwe have taken their place, and the match between Sikandar Raza’s side and India will now be played on Thursday, February 26.
However, the Indian camp is not making much fuss about Australia‘s early ouster. Ahead of the Group A match against the Netherlands, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak stated that the entire team is not bothered about what happened with Australia, and their focus remains on doing well in the tournament and defending the title.
“Everyone was thinking that Australia would qualify and come into our group in the Super 8s. We knew about this possibility too. But when we lost to Zimbabwe, we realised Zimbabwe might end up in our group. Today’s match between Zimbabwe and Ireland got rained off,” Kotak told reporters during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“After the match against Zimbabwe, we knew the match against Sri Lanka would be tough for Australia, looking at the conditions. I don’t think we are bothered about what happened. Either we play Australia, or we play Zimbabwe. We will just try to do our best against whoever we play,” he added.
After Australia’s exit, even BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla responded, saying Zimbabwe’s progress is a good sign for the sport’s growth.
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After the loss against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Monday, Australia’s hopes of making it to the next round were dependent on the outcome of the game between Ireland and Zimbabwe. Australia needed Ireland to beat Zimbabwe to have any chance of reaching the Super 8s. However, the match was abandoned due to rain, with no ball bowled, leaving Australia eliminated.
Australia’s last Group B match against Oman is no longer consequential, as Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are the only teams from this group to qualify for the next round.
Australia’s horror show
Australia’s T20 World Cup nosedived after Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out due to injuries. Days before the tournament’s opening match, skipper Mitchell Marsh also sustained an injury and missed the first two matches against Ireland and Zimbabwe.
Australia began their campaign with a win against Ireland; however, the shocker came in the next match against Zimbabwe, where they suffered a 23-run defeat. A win was desperately needed against Sri Lanka, but it was not to be as Australia went down by eight wickets after the co-hosts of the tournament chased down the target of 182 with 12 balls to spare.
