Michael Vaughan called South Africa as the ‘stupidest team’ in the T20 World Cup 2026 after they beat West Indies in a Super Eight clash in Ahmedabad that allowed India to stay alive in the tournament and later going on to lift the trophy.
South Africa beat West Indies by nine wickets and the same evening India beat Zimbabwe to keep their semifinal qualification hopes alive.
“I tell you, who I think is the stupidest team of the tournament? South Africa. Because if South Africa had allowed the West Indies to beat them in the Super 8s, India would have been knocked out. I’m just saying – if they had cleared them out, the juggernaut that was coming would have stopped,” Vaughan said on the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast.
“By winning that game, they allowed the juggernaut to go on. India then beat Zimbabwe, then the West Indies in a kind of quarterfinal, and then England. South Africa had to play Zimbabwe next, and they even rested three players for that match,” he added.
The former England captain if you want to win a tournament like World Cup then you have to knock the best team out early.
“Look, these things shouldn’t happen and usually don’t happen. I’m just saying that if you want to win a World Cup, the best way is to eliminate the best team early,” Vaughan also said.
After beating Zimbabwe, India defeated West Indies in a virtual quarterfinal, led by Sanju Samson’s 97 not out the co-hosts won by five wickets to enter the semifinal where they beat England.
On the other hand, South Africa were blown away by New Zealand in the first semifinal in Kolkata. The Kiwis thrashed South Africa by nine wickets, thanks to a blazing 33-ball century by Finn Allen.
