With the Indian team management sending all-rounder Axar Patel at the number three slot in the team’s chase of a total of 214 runs against South Africa in the second T20I played at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA New International Stadium, Mullanpur, it meant that captain Suryakumar Yadav did not come to bat at his usual number three spot. Patel played a 21-ball knock of 23 on Thursday with Yadav coming at four after the fall of Abhishek Sharma during India’s innings. With India losing vice-captain Shubman Gill in the first over, former South African pacer Dale Steyn questioned the move to send Patel at the number three spot and has termed it as ‘throwing him to the wolves’.
“He (Axar Patel) is supposed to be your best batter. That’s not a trial-and-error situation — that’s just a major mistake in my opinion. And yes, Axar can bat, but sending him there felt like throwing him to the wolves. What was the role? If he walked in to slog from ball one, fine. Or if Abhishek had gotten out first and you wanted to maintain a left-right combination, that also makes sense. But it was a right-hander who got out, and you ended up with two left-handers at the top. A lot of question marks there. Perhaps there’s experimentation happening, similar to what’s happening in South Africa. But tonight, in a match where you could’ve gone 2–1 up, I would have sent your best batters and kept things simple,” Steyn said on the post match show on JioHotstar.
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Yadav had batted at the number three spot in the first match of the series at Cuttack, where he played a 11-ball knock of 12 runs with India posting a first innings’s total of 175 for 6 and winning the match by 101 runs. At Mullanpur, South Africa had posted a total of 213 for 4 batting first. Chasing the target, India had lost the wickets of Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in the first four overs and former Indian batsman Robin Uthappa feels that Indian team management needs to fix their top three in the batting order whether the team is setting a total of chasing a total. “Your top three must be fixed, whether you’re setting a total or chasing one. These are specialist roles. Flexibility has its place, but that comes after the first six overs, once you’ve built a foundation. You can’t build that foundation when players don’t know their roles on a given day. Using a pinch-hitter is fine only in the right scenario, for example, if Abhishek gets out early and you maintain the left-right combination while still sending your best batter. Had he come in at one-drop, he would’ve gotten around 60 balls; instead, he walked in at No. 4. This constant experimentation has been going on for a while, and I worry it will hurt India at a crucial stage of a major tournament. You don’t want that happening at a World Cup,” Uthappa said on JioHotstar.
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Prior to the series, Yadav had talked about the flexibility in the Indian batting order. “You can’t compare all-rounders with finishers. All batters from 3 to 7 are capable of batting at any position. For example, you might see Tilak Verma batting at six. As you saw in Australia, Dube went at number three. It depends on the entry point.” Yadav had said.
Uthappa also disagreed on the idea and believes that India’s best batters should bat higher up the order and if players like Patel are sent early, they should be sent as a pinch-hitter. “Well, honestly, that’s not how I see it. I’m only going by his words. In the pre-series press conference, he said the opening pair is set, but everyone else are moving pieces who must be flexible. With all due respect, I disagree. When you’re chasing a big score, your solid batters — your best batters — should walk in. If you send a pinch-hitter, then he must play like one. If Axar was sent as a pinch-hitter today, he shouldn’t have scored 21 off 21; he should have gone hard and gotten out trying. But even that plan doesn’t convince me. After losing a top batter in the first or second over, you need stability at the crease. Something feels off here, and India must fix it before it becomes a habit,” Uthappa said.