Abhishek Nayar justifies India's batting order shuffle despite shocking loss to Sri Lanka in 2nd ODI

Indian cricket team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar defended head coach Gautam Gambhir and explained some of the strategies that didn’t work, and the team suffered a 32-run defeat in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on August 5 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.

A major point of discussion after India’s shocking defeat was the decision to promote all-rounder Shivam Dube to number 4, rather than relying on seasoned batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. Even Axar Patel was sent to bat at No. 5 ahead of Rahul and Iyer in the second ODI against Sri Lanka.

Abhishek Nayar defends Gautam Gambhir’s strategy after India’s defeat in the 2nd ODI

Dube's promotion did not pay off, as he was dismissed for a duck on just his fourth ball, putting India in a precarious position. When Iyer (7) and Rahul (0) eventually came in at No. 6 and 7, respectively, they could not make any difference to the situation in Colombo.

Sri Lankan spinner Jeffrey Vandersay delivered a remarkable performance, finishing with the remarkable figures of 6/33 to become the first spinner to achieve this feat in an ODI and helped the hosts to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match ODI series against the Men in Blue.

After the SL vs IND match, Nayar explained that the reshuffling of the batting order was intended to keep a left-hand and right-hand combination in the middle to counter Sri Lanka’s spinners.

However, this strategy worked well in the T20I series, but it backfired in the ODI series. India is now trailing 0-1 in the series after a tie in the first game and a loss in the second, both from strong positions.

Defending Gambhir and team management’s call, Nayar emphasized that the specific position of a batter matters less than their performance in different phases of the game. He noted that Team India lost crucial wickets in the middle overs, where the middle-order batters were in action.

Batting position only matters if you're playing in different areas of a game: Abhishek Nayar

The assistant coach admitted that the batting positions can influence performance, but the strategy was focused on maintaining a left-right combination to counter Sri Lanka’s spin attack. He insisted that, despite the outcome, the decision to use middle-order batters in their roles was the right decision.

Abhishek Nayar said at the post-match press conference: “My belief is that in any sport, position only matters if you're playing in different areas of a game. We lost wickets in the middle phase, and that's where the middle-order batters batted. It's not as if middle-order batters batted towards the end.”

He signed off by saying, “If you look at numbers like four, five, or six, maybe sometimes it can play games in your head. It was more about keeping a left-and-right combination, keeping in mind that there were offspinners, and a leg-spinner in the Sri Lanka team. The thought process was right. When it doesn't work out, these questions are asked often. But I've always believed that if a middle order batter bats as a middle order batter, it is the right decision.”