India’s constant reshuffling of their batting order came under scrutiny following their 168 for 6 finish in the Super Four clash against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2025. Despite a strong start of 72 for 0 in the powerplay and 112 for 2 after 11 overs, India managed only 56 for 4 in the final nine overs.
Confusion Over Batting Order
On ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out, cricket experts questioned India’s batting strategy. Aakash Chopra described the order as “inexplicable,” while Varun Aaron expressed disbelief over Sanju Samson not getting a chance to bat.
“𝑨𝒙𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏? 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑻20𝑰 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌,” 𝑨𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
After Shubman Gill was dismissed in the seventh over by Rishad Hossain, Shivam Dube came in at No. 3 but holed out for just 2 runs. Chopra explained,
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒃𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒌 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
India’s strategy seemed aimed at targeting Bangladesh’s spin attack, with Dube sent in to face the left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed and legspinner Rishad Hossain. However, the move failed to yield the intended impact.
Flexibility vs. Practicality
Post-match, Suryakumar Yadav justified the decision, highlighting Dube’s suitability against spin during the 7-15 over period. “Looking at their bowling line-up, Dube was a perfect match-up at that moment. His entry point was perfect, but it didn’t go well. We may try it again in upcoming games,” he said.
India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak emphasized team flexibility, stating that “everyone is prepared to bat at any number,” often to maintain a left-right combination. Despite this approach, Samson has batted at No. 3 only once in five games since Gill’s return, raising questions about the reasoning behind Axar Patel being preferred over him.
Critics noted that the differences in strike rates among Indian batters are minimal, making the constant shuffling harder to justify. Meanwhile, Dube’s declining performance against spin has fueled further debate, as his previous dominance over spinners has diminished in recent times.
Chopra summed up the concern, saying,
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕-𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 13 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐. 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆; 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.”
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