“Batting Orders Are Overrated” – Gautam Gambhir’s Bold Remark After IND vs AUS T20I Series 2025

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir once again emphasized his belief in maintaining a flexible batting order in T20Is, following India’s 2-1 series triumph over Australia. Since taking charge from Rahul Dravid after the 2024 T20 World Cup, Gambhir has maintained an unbeaten record in the shortest format.

Under his guidance, India’s recent games have seen frequent batting reshuffles, with players promoted or demoted based on match situations and individual strengths, rather than sticking to fixed slots.

For example, in the Australia series, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson were both sent in at No.3 on different occasions, while Harshit Rana got an uncommon opportunity to bat at No.7.

“Batting Orders Are Overrated, Impact Matters” – Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir clarified that apart from the opening pair, the rest of the lineup remains completely adaptable, allowing any player to step up and contribute effectively whenever the situation demands.

“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.

“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,” Gambhir added.

Team India’s next T20I challenge will be against the touring South African side, with the series set to begin on December 9, following the completion of the Test and ODI matches.