Are India really the ultimate favorites of the 2026 T20 World Cup? The Super 8 stage will be starting tomorrow; that is February 21, where they will be facing South Africa. If seen properly, unlike the rest of the teams in Group 1, India had potentially easy contenders, mostly Associate Nations, and then Pakistan, who at this point cant be considered as one of the elite teams. At this point, India has South Africa, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe in their group. Zimbabwe no doubt has established a strong team, defeating teams like Australia and Sri Lanka with healthy margins. South Africa had New Zealand and Afghanistan along with the UAE and Canada. The West Indies had a comparatively easier squad, with England as the only Test-playing nation, along with Nepal, Scotland, and Italy. Despite their status, the teams gave a good fight even if they did not get the result. For India, the match was one-sided but had expressed vulnerabilities in the batting. In the 2026 T20 World Cup, the defending champions entered the tournament as the favorites. Before the World Cup, they had already defeated New Zealand by 4-1, sealing the claim as "favorites." But their recent vulnerability against off-spin is really questionable. Are they really the undaunted favorites of the tournament? India's struggles amidst explosive batting Absolute carnage was expected from the batting side, with the top order having batters like Abhsihek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav. With the group India was placed into, "300-par" advertisements looked excessive but not irrelevant. Namibia, Netherlands, USA, three associate nations, were staffed to the group, along with Pakistan, where nobody knows what role they are assigned. In such a case, India lost wickets to batters like Saim Ayub and Salman Agha. Usman Tariq had his first match against India and still got wickets. India looked clueless in front of off-spin. Against Namibia, the captain Gerhard Erasmus, who has an ICC bowling rank of 95, foxed away 4 Indian wickets with his round-arm off-spin. Later, the Netherlands' Aryan Dutt, who has a bowling ranking of 100, took 2/19 in Ahmedabad, dismissing both openers, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, inside the PowerPlay. Currently, India has a scoring rate of 6.23 runs an over against off spin in this tournament. And this only better than Nepal AND Oman. Their batting average against off-spin stands at a dismal 13.25, with wickets falling regularly to this bowling type The batting tensions Even against the Associate Nations, India fumbled with a bat. The middle order collapsed until someone picked up the game. Had there been no 77 from Ishan Kishan and late push from Shibam Dube, the match against Pakistan could have been different. And the same against UAE if Suryakumar Yadav did not scored 84 runs. Hardik Pandya saved against Namibia with 53 runs in 28 balls. Shivam Dube another role against the Netherlands, scoring 66 runs off 31. The top concern, despite Ishan's form, prevails. Abhishek Sharma, who was relied on a lot before the tournament, suffered from a stomach bug that changed the entire scene. Despite consistent scores from Tilak Varma in the middle, he was seen struggling to rotate strokes and has failed to convert the scores. Currently, India has been scoring runs at a rate of 7.05 in the overs between 7 and 15, which is the least among the teams in Group 1. South Africa has the highest, at 8.40, with a blistering 19-ball fifty from Aiden Markram, followed by Zimbabwe (8.14) due to Raza's mid-innings blitz. Not only that, but they have been struggling with a 41.6% dot ball rate in the middle. The fielding woes India ranks second in the list of dropping catches in the 2026 T20 World Cup. They have dropped 9, one less than Ireland (10). The team has averaged 2–3 dropped chances per match. Even associate nations like Namibia (6 drops) have been statistically more efficient in the field than India during this World Cup. In the final group game on February 18, 2026, India dropped two catches in consecutive balls during the final over. This included a high-profile collision between Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh due to a lack of communication. In the match against Pakistan, Kuldeep dropped a sitter that went to the boundary. And this led to some cold clashes between Surya and him during the post-match handshakes. The structural questions Conditions have shaped India’s batting returns. The switch from Colombo’s slower surfaces to Ahmedabad’s skiddier pitch required adjustment, with bowlers who undercut the ball becoming more effective. This time, they will be playing all the matches in their country. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma has largely batted at No. 3 and Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4. Against off-spin, Tilak has 26 off 31 balls; Suryakumar has 28 off 27 with one dismissal. A swap may look logical, but the numbers add nuance. In the powerplay against pace, Tilak has 62 off 41 balls, compared to Suryakumar’s 29 off 26. After 10 overs, Suryakumar scores at over 10 per over overall and above 15 per over against pace, suggesting Tilak absorbs early pressure while Suryakumar accelerates later. The final contenders arriving India will face South Africa on 22nd February. They will have Aiden Markram as their go-to offspin option apart from their premium offspinners Keshav Maharaj and George Linde. Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza can himself come to open the bowling, something he is not totally unaware of. Later West Indies may set on with Roston Chase, apart from having spinners like Akeil Hussain and Gudakesh Motie. In such a situation, can India be called an undaunted favorite? Suryakumar Yadav and his team have three more matches to prove themselves. One defeat can actually cause a massive tremble. Keeping aside all the bookish stats of teams not winning a T20 World Cup in their country, it's time to expect good cricket from the team.