India’s batting collapse against Australia in the second T20I on Friday has raised questions over the visitors’ strategy. The team management experimented with the batter order, falling flat on its face.
The men in blue were bundled out for 125 with only two batters – Abhishek Sharma and Harshit Rana – scoring in double figures. Focus was also on Sanju Samson, who was sent to bat at no. 3 but managed just 2 runs off 4 deliveries.
Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan highlighted several flaws in India’s tactical approach during the Melbourne T20, insisting that Suryakumar Yadav must establish himself as the permanent No. 3 batter.
“As for Sanju Samson, if he keeps moving up and down the batting order like this, I’m not sure how effective that will be,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Pathan explained that while flexibility is a key aspect of T20 cricket, it shouldn’t come at the cost of defined roles within the team.
“I know that in T20 cricket, apart from the openers, no one really has a fixed position, and flexibility is important. But in the name of flexibility, you shouldn’t become so elastic that you lose the stability that comes with having defined roles. That’s something the Indian team really needs to pay attention to,” he warned.
India also shuffled Shivam Dube’s batting position, sending him in after Harshit Rana — a move that backfired as Dube was dismissed in just two balls.
“When you keep changing a player’s role repeatedly, things naturally change. Playing against the older ball in the middle overs, which Sanju Samson did during the Asia Cup, is very different from opening the innings, where he had scored three centuries,” Pathan explained, emphasizing that this lack of clarity brought more drawbacks than advantages.
“It requires a different mindset and a lot of mental strength, along with strong backing from the team.”
Pathan concluded with a pointed message for Samson, urging him to deliver a substantial innings in the ongoing series.
“There’s no doubt he’s getting the support he needs. But that support can fade quickly if a player has three or four failures in a row. Hopefully, that won’t happen with Sanju Samson,” the former all-rounder cautioned.
