Copyright timesnownews
The Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir came out in strong defence of his tactical moves despite widespread criticism after India's T20I series win over Australia, as the Suryakumar Yadav-led team came back with a 2-1 victory against a home team, which rested several players through the course of the series ahead of the Ashes. Ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, India have constantly shuffled their batting order apart from the openers. The number three spot was changed in every game down under, with Suryakumar walking out to bat in the position in the first and third game, while Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube took up the role in the second and fourth match. Similar moves were made lower down the order, and Gambhir claimed that apart from Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, no player has a permanent spot, while claiming that batting orders are overrated. "I think batting orders are overrated. Obviously, two openers are permanent. Rest, I think everything shuffles because it's not the amount of runs that matter in T20 cricket. It's the impact that matters. And people sometimes miscalculate or do not differentiate between the batting order, the runs and the impact. See, runs are different and impact is different. In T20 cricket, it's all about the impact. It's 120 balls. Every ball is an event. Every ball needs to have the maximum impact that we can have. "And that's the reason from day one, I think it has been a very fluid batting order. And that is how we want to play this game. We don't want to play a game thinking about averages, strike rates and all that stuff," said Gambhir in an interaction with BCCI.TV. Gautam Gambhir Defends Jasprit Bumrah Usage Another move that has faced criticism is India's usage of Jasprit Bumrah, with the star pacer being top-loaded with three overs in the powerplay. Gambhir explained that the team want to be aggressive with the ball and put pressure on the teams in the first six overs. Also Read: Dig At Rohit-Virat? Gambhir Fumes Over ODI Series Loss - 'I Can Never Celebrate...' "I think a lot of people relate to this T20 side as a very aggressive batting lineup. For me, I think bowling Jasprit [Bumrah] for three overs in the first six was an even more aggressive option with the ball. We don't want to be a side which is only known as an aggressive batting order, we want to be a side which should be known as an aggressive side overall. "I thought that the Asia Cup, it has really worked well for us because bowling just Bumrah in the first three obviously makes us win the powerplay most of the time. And then obviously, we got two wicket-taking options in the middle with Varun and Kuldeep. So it gives them a lot of leverage to bowl with freedom in the middle phase. And we can take wickets all the time. And that was one of the reasons. So I felt that I think it was a very aggressive move, not only with the bat, but also with the ball as well. And that is how we want to play the game as well," Gambhir added. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Sports, Cricket and around the world.
