India to boycott Narendra Modi Stadium? Faf du Plessis takes sharp dig at Gautam Gambhir’s team

Faf du Plessis targets India: India have been handed a humiliating loss by 76 runs on Sunday, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, by South Africa. This loss ended India’s 12-match win streak in the T20 World Cups. The Proteas came all guns blazing despite a collapse of 20/3; they gave no chance to India, while they were chasing a target of 188.

After the loss, former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis took a slight dig. The former captain has been a part of the ESPNcricinfo panel for the T20 World Cup 2026. Faf du Plessis was there alongside former India pacer Varun Aaron.

They've played there, yeah, they've played there quite a bit over the years - Faf du Plessis

The host and the two former cricketers were discussing South Africa being well suited with the conditions, having played three of their group stage games at the Narendra Modi Stadium. However, it cannot be an excuse after the loss; it has been India’s home ground, and they should have assessed the conditions well.

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While speaking on the post-match show, Faf du Plessis said, “They've played there, yeah, they've played there quite a bit over the years".

"Some big games. They also don't seem to be winning a lot of the big games there quite a bit," replied the host. Then, Faf du Plessis said, "Is that the last time we see them play there?”

Here's the video

Faf's polite question 😆👀#TimeOut | #INDvSA | #T20WorlCup pic.twitter.com/Qm4bXKTwXE

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 23, 2026

Faf du Plessis' comments were a dig at India, as he was implying that it might have been the last time India were playing at Narendra Modi Stadium because they won't qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026 final.

Is Narendra Modi Stadium cursed for India?

The story remained the same last night, as Suryakumar Yadav’s men could change the fortunes here at this venue, which saw India National Cricket Team’s 17-match winning streak in ICC tournaments since the 2024 T20 World Cup being broken. It has been a daunting experience at this venue.

India, over the 28 games in the last four ICC tournaments, lost just twice, both at this stadium. Now, the question arises in the fans' mind is the Narendra Modi Stadium ‘A curse for the India National Cricket Team?’

However, from the cricketing perspective, the Men in Blue were completely outplayed against Aiden Markram’s side, who came well planned and implemented them properly, despite an initial collapse of 20/3. A David Miller show at the weekend took the game away from India. The Southpaw played an innings of 63 off 35 balls and showed controlled aggression.

India's batting collapse problem continues

India, while coming out to chase, lost their most in-form batter, Ishan Kishan, for a duck in the first over. After that, the batting order fell like a pack of cards as half the team was back inside the dressing room with the score being 51/5. At one stage, 100 seemed impossible.

However, a gritty 42 off 37 balls by Shivam Dube helped India to go past the hundred run mark, but he was not supported from the other end, and thus they were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs.

Also Read: 'South Africa broke India’s pride': Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar celebrate, brutally mock Gautam Gambhir & Co.