Former England captain Michael Vaughan, in a video recently shared on YouTube, said that South Africa missed a big opportunity to eliminate India early in the competition.
The Proteas performed well in the group stage and Super 8s, staying unbeaten.
However, they were defeated by New Zealand in the semifinal.
In the video, Vaughan said South Africa should have lost their Super 8 match against the West Indies on purpose. He said if the West Indies had won that match, India would not have reached the semifinal.
“I think South Africa were the stupidest team of the tournament. Because if South Africa had allowed the West Indies to beat them in the Super 8s, India would have been knocked out,” Vaughan said.
He explained that by defeating the West Indies, South Africa actually helped India qualify for the semifinal.
He also mentioned that South Africa’s next fixture was against Zimbabwe.
“By winning the game against the Windies, they allowed the India juggernaut to roll on. India beat Zimbabwe, then the West Indies in a kind of quarterfinal, and then England,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan said that removing the strongest opponent early can sometimes be the smartest way to win a World Cup.
“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,” he added.
South Africa were the stupidest team of T20 World Cup, says Michael Vaughan
