Gautam Gambhir's Suryakumar yadav Blunder Costs India Heavy, Dale Steyn Says "Major Mistake"

The Indian cricket team suffered a hefty defeat at the hands of South Africa in the second T20I of the series on Thursday, losing the contest by 51 runs. From the batting unit to bowling, the team failed to click in any department, with some of the players producing horror performances. While players do have to be blamed, head coach Gautam Gambhir's decision to change the team's batting order at every opportunity has also been severely criticised. In the 2nd T20I at Mullanpur, Gambhir shuffled India captain Suryakumar Yadav's batting order, leaving former cricketers bemused.

Former India batter Robin Uthappa, who has played with Gambhir in both the Indian team and the Kolkata Knight Riders, recalled Gambhir's remarks in the press conference after the 3rd ODI against South Africa. Suryakumar came out to bat after Axar Patel, scoring just 5 runs off 4 balls before being sent back to the dressing room.

"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've 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," he said in a chat as a pundit with the broadcaster after the game.

South Africa legend Dale Steyn, who was accompanying Uthappa in the analysis, echoed the sentiments, calling the decision by Gambhir as 'a major mistake'.

"He's 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'd have sent your best batters and kept things simple," the South Africa great added.

To conclude, Uthappa urged Gambhir to have a fixed batting order for the top three positions, even if he intends to keep the rest of the unit flexible.

"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."

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Gautam Gambhir Robin Uthappa Dale Steyn India vs South Africa 2025, India Cricket