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India head coach Gautam Gambhir feels that the batting order in T20s is overrated. Gambhir outlined his vision in T20s, emphasising flexibility and impact over conventional batting. Gambhir said that barring the openers, every player should be used to bat at any position, saying it is not about the runs in T20 cricket, but the impact they can make on the game. Gambhir has his sights set on the T20 World Cup 2026, where India will enter as defending champions. "That has been the ideology from day one when I took over as the head coach, from Sri Lanka till now. It has not changed. I think batting orders are very overrated, except the openers, obviously. The two openers are permanent, the rest, I think, everything shuffles, because it is not the amount of runs that matter in T20 cricket, it's the impact that matters. People sometimes miscalculate or do not differentiate between the batting order, the runs, and the impact," Gambhir told BCCI in an interview after the Australia tour. “We don’t want to play this game thinking about averages and strike-rates and all that stuff. We are thinking about how much impact a player can make in what situation. I think that’s going to be very important for this team,” he said. “I think, with time, T20 cricket will evolve. If we, as coaches, don’t evolve, we will be behind the eight ball. We want to be ahead of the times in T20I cricket. The young boys have adapted well to this idea. Hopefully, they continue adapting and evolving.” Gambhir Defends Frequent Changes To Batting OrderGambhir has faced criticism for constant changes to the batting order, but he defended the decision, saying that it is the responsibility of the coaches to build a dynamic unit in an ever-evolving T20 landscape. “I think, with time, T20 cricket will evolve. If we, as coaches, don’t evolve, we will be behind the eight ball. We want to be ahead of the times in T20I cricket. The young boys have adapted well to this idea. Hopefully, they continue adapting and evolving.” Gambhir also linked the team's flexibility to the presence of multiple all-rounders in the team, saying that they'll be very crucial in the T20 World Cup. “How many teams have the luxury of having these kinds of spin all-rounders? When we go overseas, sometimes we don’t get the luxury of seam-bowling all-rounders. Imagine when touring sides come to India — we have got people like Axar and Washi, they can bat and bowl, they can get into a side purely as a batter as well. Imagine, it’s a great luxury to have. They are going to be very, very important come the World Cup. With the quality they have, they are going to flourish in all conditions,” he said. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Sports, Cricket and around the world.
