Former South African pacer Dale Steyn has questioned the Indian team’s decision to play Axar Patel at number three, calling the move as “throwing him to the wolves.”
The tactical shift occurred during India’s second T20I against South Africa at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA New International Stadium in Mullanpur, where they were chasing a 214-run target.
With Axar elevated to No. 3, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav batted at No. 4, instead of his normal position. Axar scored 23 runs off 21 balls, and Suryakumar replaced Abhishek Sharma when he was dismissed. India had also suffered an early setback, with vice-captain Shubman Gill dismissed in the opening over.
“He (Axar Patel) is 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 walks in to slog from ball one, fine,” said Steyn on JioHotstar.
“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 would have sent your best batters and kept things simple,” he added.
Suryakumar had batted at No. 3 in the first match of the series in Cuttack, where he scored 12 runs off 11 balls as India posted a first-innings total of 175 for 6 and went on to win by 101 runs. In Mullanpur, however, India lost their top-order batters within the first four overs, prompting former India cricketer Robin Uthappa to remark that the team management needs to stabilise their top three in the batting order, regardless of whether they are setting a target or chasing one.
“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,” said Uthappa.
“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,” he added.
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