Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad has lashed out at the Gujarat Titans (GT) for dropping Jos Buttler down into the batting order during the IPL 2026 final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31.
After RCB’s historic title triumph in Ahmedabad, Broad said that Gujarat Titans made a costly mistake by changing their batting order in the final. RCB crushed GT by five wickets in the title clash to defend the trophy and became the only third team in IPL history to do so.
Gujarat Titans' biggest IPL 2026 Final blunder against RCB
Gujarat Titans had a poor start after being asked to bat first by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar. Captain Shubman Gill was dismissed cheaply for just 10 runs. Losing Gill was already a huge blow, as he was in red-hot form, but what happened next surprised everyone.
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Instead of sending England’s seasoned batter Jos Buttler at No. 3, where he had batted successfully throughout the season, Gujarat Titans promoted uncapped player Nishant Sindhu. It was a bold move, but it did not work, as Sindhu was dismissed for 20 runs off 18 balls.
Jos Buttler demotion backfires as Stuart Broad tears into GT strategy
Buttler, who came at number four, also struggled to make an impact. The former England captain was dismissed for 19 runs from 23 balls, and GT never got the momentum. They were bowled out for 155/8, and RCB chased down the target with five wickets and two overs left in Ahmedabad.
After the Gujarat Titans missed the chance to lift the trophy, Stuart Broad slammed the team management for changing a successful batting formula in the IPL final. Buttler has been impressive this season at No. 3, scoring 526 runs across 17 matches at a strike rate of 152.46.
Stuart Broad said on For the Love of Cricket podcast: “Buttler batted at 3 throughout the tournament. And then came the final, batting first; he moved down to bat at 4. I can't get my head around why you changed the role in the final. Even AB de Villiers said it was a defensive move.”
Steven Finn left baffled by Gujarat Titans' Jos Buttler gamble in IPL 2026 Final
Meanwhile, former England pacer Steven Finn also questioned the move. He felt Buttler had enough experience to handle the new ball. However, he feels GT may have hoped the pitch would become easier to bat on later, but the gamble failed badly in the big game.
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Finn said during the same discussion, “Buttler dropping down was surprising, as it's not like he's not exposed to the new ball, having opened so much for England. It does seem slightly curious. The only rationale behind the move was the think tank feeling the pitch was going to get better and having the guy at No. 3 to just stay at the crease until the wicket got better for batting, allowing Jos to catch up and do his thing.”
Stuart Broad explains why GT fell apart in IPL 2026 Final
Well, Broad also pointed out that Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have been scoring most of the runs for the GT, and that’s why the middle order rarely had to handle difficult situations under pressure. But both Gill and Sudharsan failed badly in the final, and that Buttler call unintentionally exposed their weakness.
Broad signed off by saying, “The problems of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan each scoring over 700 runs were seen in the final. When your openers are this consistent, it doesn't give your middle order much exposure under pressure. And when you need them, they might not be able to drag you over the line. Both openers failed today, and immediately, the thought was they were done.”
