Robin Uthappa warns Indian captain, coach over batting order flexibility
What's the story
Ahead of India's 2nd T20I against South Africa, former batter Robin Uthappa has issued a warning to head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav. He said that if their flexible batting order strategy goes wrong, it could backfire on both of them. Uthappa's comments came on his YouTube channel, where he expressed concerns about the form of key batters and the importance of having them in good form for the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup.
Concerns raised
Uthappa questions batting formÂ
Uthappa said, "You can't go into a World Cup as the defending champions with your main batters not in good form." He specifically mentioned how Hardik Pandya's performance saved India in the 1st T20I. "If it wasn't for him, we would have been 30-40 runs off that total, and that's a 130," he said, expressing his concerns over the form of key batters and the impact of the flexible batting order strategy.
Performance impact
Potential impact of dip
Uthappa also highlighted the potential impact of a drop in performance on Suryakumar's batting. He said, "Today it's not affecting him because India is winning matches. But if that drops over the next nine games, then it starts impacting his batting and how he leads on the field as well." He stressed on having the main batters in good form ahead of the home World Cup, focusing on the form of key batters.
Strategy debate
AB de Villiers weighs in on Gambhir's batting order strategy
Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers also weighed in on the debate over Gambhir's flexible batting order. He said, "I do agree with him to a certain extent. I've always enjoyed a floating batting lineup in ODIs." However, he cautioned against playing around too much with players' roles and suggested there should be three segments: top order, middle order, and tailenders who can hold the bat.
Batting order
Flexibility in batting order
Following India's 2-1 ODI series win over South Africa at home, Gambhir said, "I've always believed that in white-ball cricket, batting orders are very overrated." Although his methods have been yielding results in T20I cricket, many believe Gambhir has been far too experimental with the batting line-up. In the 1st T20I against South Africa, Axar Patel was sent in ahead of Hardik after India were down to 78/4 (11.4 overs). The hosts won, but the move remained debatable.