India’s blisters of T20Is have been determined by their explosive batting line-up, which has been determined by all but the openers whose positions rotate in the order. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has now clarified India’s approach, stating that he prefers to field batsmen based on the impact they can have in a given situation rather than relying on their usual number of runs or their averages and strike rates.
“This has been the ideology since day one when I took over as the head coach,” Gambhir said in a video posted on the official website of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Multiplication orders are highly exaggerated. Both slots are permanent. I think the rest gets mixed up because it’s not the number of runs that matters in T20 cricket, it’s the impact that matters.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav also echoed similar sentiments after his recent win in Australia. Gambhir has made it clear that his approach in T20 cricket is to maximize every ball available. “People sometimes don’t differentiate between runs and impact. Runs and impact are different. In T20 cricket, it’s all about impact. In 120 balls, every ball is an event, there has to be maximum impact on each of them. That’s why the batting order is so fluid. We don’t want to play a game thinking about averages, strike rates and all those things. We think about the impact a person can have in a situation. That will be important for us this T20 aspect.”
“Over time, T20 cricket will evolve and if we as coaches don’t evolve, we will be behind the eight-ball. We want to be ahead of the curve and that’s exactly how these young boys have adapted. We hope they continue to adapt and develop in the future.”
Gambhir is known to take an unusual approach to his batting lineups in T20 cricket. As captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, Gambhir promoted Sunil Narine, who was not known for his batting prowess, to the top of the order. He ended up being a key part of the two titles KKR won under him, and Narine has been a regular in the opening slot for many years since.
(Tags for translation)Gautam Gambhir
