Team India management reportedly unhappy with Wankhede pitch despite win over USA in T20 World Cup 2026

Team India recently began their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a 29-run win over the United States of America in Mumbai on 7 February.

However, not everything went according to plan for the Men in Blue. Having been asked to bat, the hosts found themselves in trouble at 77/6 in the 13th over, but skipper Suryakumar Yadav steadied the ship with an unbeaten 84 to take India to 161/9. In reply, the USA were restricted to 132/8 from 20 overs.

The report adds that the Indian team management has stated their preference for high-scoring pitches. This is not the first time that pitches have come under scrutiny whenever India have played.

The Indian batters were put to the test in sluggish pitches in the UAE during the 2025 Asia Cup, as well as on their tour of Australia late last year. Another example of pitches making the headlines for the wrong reasons was during India's home Test series against South Africa last year.

The Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata drew criticism after India failed to chase down a target of 124. The ICC, however, had ranked the Kolkata pitch as "satisfactory", despite the pitch facing criticism from former cricketers, including Harbhajan Singh and Michael Vaughan.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir, however, had defended the nature of the pitch, saying: "There was no demon in this wicket. It was not an unplayable one," he had said.

"This was not a typical turning track. Majority of the wickets were claimed by the seamers. It was more of a test of your technique and mental toughness... Those who defended well scored runs. This is exactly what we wanted but when you don't play well, this is what happens," he had added.

In the 2023 ODI World Cup, the Ahmedabad pitch had been criticised for being "doctored" for the final against Australia, in a bid to suit India's spinners. However, that eventually backfired as India went on to lose the final by six wickets, with Australia chasing down 241 with six wickets and seven overs to spare.

Coming back to the 2026 T20 World Cup, the Suryakumar Yadav-led India will be in action against Namibia in Delhi on Thursday (12 February). That will be followed by games against Pakistan (15 February in Colombo) and the Netherlands (18 February in Ahmedabad).