Experts Roast Gambhir After India’s Defeat, Calling Batting Order Shuffle a “Major Mistake”

India suffered a humiliating 51-run defeat against South Africa in the second T20I at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night, December 11, 2025, allowing the hosts to level the five-match series 1–1. South Africa rode on Quinton de Kock’s blistering 79 off 47 balls to post 213/6 before bowling India out for a paltry 162 in 19.3 overs. The collapse exposed glaring flaws in batting strategy, with head coach Gautam Gambhir’s persistent shuffling of the order coming under intense scrutiny from former players and fans alike.

The most controversial decision came early in the chase when, after Shubman Gill fell in the second over, Gambhir sent all-rounder Axar Patel at No. 3 ahead of captain and premier batter Suryakumar Yadav. Axar consumed 21 deliveries for his 21 runs in a painfully slow knock that killed momentum, while Suryakumar walked in only at No. 4 and perished for 5 off 4 balls. The move triggered an irreversible top-order meltdown, with India reduced to 28/4 inside the powerplay.

Former India batter Robin Uthappa, commentating for the host broadcaster, launched a scathing attack on Gambhir’s philosophy of treating almost every batting position as “flexible”. Recalling Gambhir’s pre-series assertion that only the opening pair is fixed, Uthappa said, “With all due respect, I completely disagree. When chasing 214, your best batters must walk in early. Sending a pinch-hitter is fine only if he actually pinches—Axar scored 21 off 21; that’s not pinching, that’s blocking.” He warned that constant musical chairs with the batting line-up could prove costly in knockout stages of future ICC events.

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South African pace legend Dale Steyn, alongside Uthappa in the commentary box, was even more direct, branding the promotion of Axar ahead of Suryakumar “a major mistake.” “He (Suryakumar) is supposed to be your best batter in this format,” Steyn stressed. “That’s not trial-and-error territory. You don’t throw Axar to the wolves without a clear role. Even the left-right combination argument falls flat here—a right-hander got out, and you still ended up with two lefties.” Steyn added that such experimentation should be reserved for dead rubbers, not a game where India could have taken a 2–0 series lead.

Uthappa concluded by urging Gambhir to lock the top three positions irrespective of whether India bats first or second. “Flexibility belongs after the power play, once a platform is set. You cannot build a house when the foundation keeps shifting every match,” he said, pointing out that Suryakumar faced only four deliveries, whereas he could have batted for 60–70 had he come at No. 3. Social media erupted with memes comparing Gambhir’s tactics to “airlines changing boarding gates every five minutes.”

With the series now delicately poised, the spotlight shifts to the third T20I in Johannesburg on December 14. Gambhir will face tough questions at the pre-match press conference, while Suryakumar Yadav and the rest of the batting unit must quickly regain confidence ahead of a packed white-ball calendar culminating in the 2026 Champions Trophy. For now, the “flexibility” experiment has backfired spectacularly, leaving Indian fans hoping the coaching staff reverts to more conventional—and proven—methods.

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