“Batting orders are very overrated”- Gautam Gambhir finally breaks the silence on why India follow a shuffled batting order in T20Is

Gautam Gambhir is yet to lose a T20I series or tournament as India’s head coach.

Indian Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir finally broke the silence on why there is no fixed batting order for the team in T20Is. He made a strong statement, saying that batting orders are overrated as impact matters more than runs in the shortest format of the game.

Ever since Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team, things have drastically changed. The team has focused more on impact and a selfless batting approach rather than having a safe and fixed approach.

Apart from the openers, especially in T20Is, there is no fixed batting order. This has seen Gautam Gambhir facing a lot of criticism but this mantra has brought success to the team as well as they are yet to lose a single series/tournament under Gambhir in the shortest format of the game.

I think batting orders are very overrated, except the openers – Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir talked about his ideology of not having a fixed batting order. He said that apart from openers everyone can shuffle as impact matters more than the runs in the T20Is. Speaking in a video posted by the BCCI, he said:  

“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 added that he doesn’t want players to play for averages, strike rates but instead they should be more focused on having a fluid batting order. He added: 

“That’s the reason from day one, I think it has been a fluid batting order, and that is how we want to play the game. We don’t want to play a game thinking about averages, strike rates, and all that stuff.”

During the recent T20I series against Australia as well, India went in with a confusing rather shuffled batting order. Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson in a few games were made to bat in the top order, while Harshit Rana also batted at No.7 in one match. 

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