Kolkata: India not adhering to any particular batting order in T20 is a foregone conclusion now. So much so that there is no point really debating the merits or downsides of promoting Axar Patel to No.3 in the second T20I. It had to happen one day, and Patel scoring 21 off 21 balls in a match India eventually lost by 51 runs can be put down to coincidence. Flexibility being the intent here, expect India to usher in more such changes. That’s at least what Tilak Varma indicated ahead of the third T20I in Dharamsala.
“Everyone is flexible except the openers,” Varma said on Saturday. “I am up for batting at 3, 4, 5 or 6 — wherever the team prefers. If the team feels a particular move is tactically best, everyone goes with the team.” Peel back the results and the underlying stats and this elaborate and complicated exercise is to prepare the line-up for any eventuality, any scenario. Patel has always been considered a floating allrounder, coming anywhere between Nos.5 and 8. Thursday was the first time Patel batted at No.3 in international cricket, his third outing overall if IPL too is considered.
Patel was probably overwhelmed in this new role. But the failure will only make him more adaptable in future. “One-off games keep happening,” said Varma. “Axar has already done the same thing and he did well there. It depends on the situation.” Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate too had said they are trying out different combinations. “We are trying things combination-wise,” he said after Thursday’s defeat. “We have eight or nine games before the T20 World Cup and we have found ourselves three down at 35 over the last couple of months, more times than we would have liked. So, we are just exploring to extend our batting, the link between openers and the guys who we want to come out and smash around when things get easier.”
Chances are India won’t stick to the same batting order at Dharamsala. Patel’s failure was one-off, but India have a growing headache given how captain Suryakumar Yadav has been floundering. Shubman Gill too hasn’t scored a fifty since July, 2024. While Gill is being projected as a long-term opener, it remains to be seen if Surya returns to No.3 in Dharamsala. It’s tough to fault him or India’s ways as long as the results are positive. But the drought of runs can’t be ignored, not at least so close to the World Cup.
Some other issues have cropped up as well. Before the second T20I, Jasprit Bumrah had never been hit for four sixes in an innings. Arshdeep Singh conceding 54 runs in that game, though one-off, might raise some concerns.
The venue’s history too may have to be taken into account. Toss might become a factor given that out of the five IPL games Dharamsala has hosted since the last T20I in 2022, four have been won by the side batting first. “We don’t have the toss in our hands. We are preparing for the dew and have practiced with a slightly wet ball,” said Varma. “In the first two matches, the team batting first won because there was some seam and swing in the cold. Overall, there isn’t much difference as dew comes in early.”
The temperature has been dropping to single digits in the night but Varma feels the game could still be high scoring. “I have played an under-19 India series here before. We are watching the wicket and I feel it will be a high-scoring one,” he said. “It’s very cold here, but we are prepared mentally and physically. Those who are mentally strong succeed everywhere.”
