The recent ODI series victory of India over South Africa has led to a heated debate about the team’s strategy, which was primarily initiated by head coach Gautam Gambhir, to which the Proteas veteran AB de Villiers more or less agrees with the latter.
Gambhir is keen on an adaptable strategy and says that a clear and adjustable plan for fifty overs is more important than having the strictest of batting positions. The team’s continuous winning streak in the ODI and T20I formats can be attributed to this philosophy.
“I think in a one-day format, you should know the template that you want to play with. I’ve always believed that in white-ball cricket, except the opening combination, batting orders are very overrated,” Gambhir said during a press conference.
ABD responds to Gambhir’s batting order comments
The former South African cricketer AB de Villiers reacted to Gambhir’s comments during his YouTube channel, saying he completely supports the idea of a floating batting order.
“I do agree with him to a certain extent. I’ve always enjoyed a floating batting lineup in ODIs. But it’s a fine line because you can’t really play around too much with the players’ roles. It’s the top three, four to six, and then your tailenders who can hold the bat. It’s almost like three segments, and you can really be creative with that. Play with right and left-hand combinations and certain situations of the game,” De Villiers said.
De Villiers did not spare praise to the Indian team for their T20I triumph and their superb tactics, which are so suited to the game.
“It has been marvelous, particularly for a T20 format. It’s the most unpredictable of the three, and to have that kind of consistency is a strong signal that there is somewhere in the process really going on right. I reckon it is all about the depth of Indian cricket,” De Villiers said.
But this adaptable approach keeps creating selection challenges. Returning Shubman Gill pushed Sanju Samson out of the opening slot, though Samson has been performing well in that spot. India captain Suryakumar Yadav stated that even though Samson did nicely, Gill was the first choice.
While the enigma still exists with a lot of skilled batters waiting on the bench, the Indian team will soon be heading to Mullanpur for their second T20I encounter with South Africa on December 11.
