There is confusion in the strategy of Gambhir and Suryakumar regarding batting order.Image Credit source: PTI
T20 World Cup 2026 is around the corner and expectations from Team India are continuously increasing. One and a half years ago, the Indian team had won this tournament under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma and this time the team will try to save this title under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav. In such a situation, there is a lot of responsibility on the team and especially on captain Suryakumar. Now the hope is that by coming so close to the tournament, Team India will be clear about its strategies but it seems that the team is still not completely confident in its plan regarding the batting order. This is the reason why the Indian captain has changed his statement within a month.
Now you are wondering which statement did Suryakumar Yadav change? What did he say earlier and what did he say now? Let us show you the complete picture. On Tuesday, June 20, the Indian captain came for a press conference, where he answered questions related to the T20 series against New Zealand starting on Wednesday. During this time, when it came to playing-11, he told that Ishan Kishan will be given a chance in place of injured Tilak Verma and he will come to bat at number-2.
Till now everything was correct but when it came to his own batting position, the answer given by Surya surprised him. The Indian captain announced to bat at number 4 instead of number 3 and while explaining the reason for the same, said, “My figures are good at both number 3 and number 4. Maybe a little better at number 4. We want to be flexible about this and if the right-handed batsman is out then I will go, otherwise the left hander (Tilak Verma if fit).”
Now on first hearing there does not appear to be any problem with this statement. Team India has made the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, one of whom is a right hand and the other a left hand batsman. In such a situation, this thinking seems correct. But the problem with Suryakumar Yadav’s statement is that just a month ago he was against it and had called the left-right combination overrated.
In fact, ever since head coach Gautam Gambhir has joined Team India, he has been following the policy of left-right combination. But in the press conference held on December 21 during the announcement of Team India for the T20 World Cup, captain Suryakumar Yadav was seen turning away from that policy. Then the Indian captain had described Tilak as the number-3 batsman and said, “We have come to a point where Gauti Bhai (coach Gambhir) and I feel that the left-right combination is a bit overrated. Now we have decided that Tilak will play at number-3 and I will play at number-4.”
In such a situation, it is natural to be surprised if the captain of Team India is taking a direct U-turn on the same issue within just 30 days. But what is more worrying than surprising is why is the team management so confused about the batting order? Why is it not being decided to follow a policy? Obviously this could cause losses in the tournament.