Axar Patel at no. 3? Former Indian batter questions mindless decision of Gautam Gambhir

As India arrived at New Chandigarh for the second T20I against South Africa, the Proteas put on a mammoth chase in front of the Indians. The Indian head coach made an unconventional decision to promote Axar Patel in the batting order, a strategy that once again misfired.

India started off the T20I series against South Africa with a commanding 100-run victory in Cuttack. Following the win, they arrived in New Chandigarh for the second T20I with no changes to the XI. Kuldeep Yadav was once again not handed a place in the XI.

This was followed by the South Africans, who came into the game with a dominating performance. Quinton de Kock led the South African innings with a stunning start, and the innings was wound up with an extraordinary finish from Donovan Ferreira.

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Aakash Chopra slams Gautam Gambhir for the mindless decision to promote Axar Patel

As India came down to chasing a mammoth 214-run total and lost Shubman Gill early into the innings, Gautam Gambhir planned out an extraordinary leap in the Indian middle-order as he promoted all-rounder Axar Patel up the order.

Aakash Chopra has also felt that Axar Patel's promotion seemed controversial, and as a result of this, Shivam Dube was not handed enough gametime to produce any significant impact.

"Trying to wrap my head around the move to promote Axar at 3 yesterday.
One could understand if India were 25/3 and you wanted to stem the collapse. But at 3 while chasing 214?" said Aakash Chopra.

Gautam Gambhir is widely known for his strange antics, as the move seemed mindless. Since the match conditions needed quick scoring, and with Abhishek Sharma at the crease, sending in another left-hander did not even apply the combination of right-handed and left-handed batters.

"It also didn’t align with the left-right strategy. It didn’t play to his strengths to hit spinners either. As a result, while he played 21 balls…Dube walked in with only 13 balls left," he added.

Trying to wrap my head around the move to promote Axar at 3 yesterday.
One could understand if india were 25/3 and you wanted to stem the collapse. But at 3 while chasing 214? It also didn’t align with the left-right strategy. It didn’t play to his strengths to hit spinners…

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 12, 2025

Shivam Dube did not get a chance to free his hands

The game needed batters like Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube to bat deep into the innings and make use of the conditions to chase the mammoth total. However, the left-handed all-rounder struggled to set his eyes on the ball, as he was dismissed on the very second ball.

Shivam Dube came down at no. 8 with just two overs remaining. As Dube attempted to swing hard at Baartmaan, his off stump went flying off the ground. Dube could not let him setttle, and Chopra suggests that instead Dube's promotion in the batting order would have affected the results otherwise.

Hardik Pandya's struggles proved to be the game-turning factor for India

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya made his return to the game after a long break. The Indian all-rounder produced runs at ease in the previous game in Cuttack, when India struggled with the bat. But he failed to produce the same impact in the chase this time around.

Rather, Pandya struggled with a low strike rate for the first 12 balls; he was batting with a strike rate of 50. Even after his dismissal, he was well below the 100 mark on the strike rate column, and that is what affected India's chase.

They were not only disappointed by their most premier finisher but also lost many deliveries, which could come in handy for players like Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube.

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