Since the Champions Trophy, India has adopted a Strategy of Left-Right Combination af

Advertisment

The much-hyped Sunday clash between India and Australia has raised harsh criticism of Shubman Gill’s captaincy and the decision to send KL Rahul late in the batting order in a rain-affected one-sided match. Australia won the match by 7 wickets after rain played a spoilsport during India’s innings, shortening the match to a 26-over affair. 

Indian batter KL Rahul was sent at number 6 after the top order collapsed early in the match, which raised many questions.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth Hits at Team India Management

Krishnamachari Srikkanth, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, baffled by KL Rahul's position in the batting order, said, "KL Rahul should play ahead of Shreyas Iyer. It was an absurd decision by the team and management. You are leaving him and looking somewhere else. If he scores, he scores a lot. Axar Patel going higher than KL is absolute rubbish," on his YouTube channel.

Advertisment

"The point is not whether Axar played well or not. You have one of the best and classiest players in your XI. KL should have come in at five. If I were the captain, I would have even sent him at four, in fact. The conditions in the subcontinent are different from those in Australia. He should be playing the maximum number of balls."

Srikkanth was also unhappy with the batting position of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

"By any chance, had they gone up to 160 and not lost more wickets, the DLS score would have been higher, and probably things could have favored India. If we talk neutrally, rain actually saved them. Another mistake they made was not sending Nitish in after KL and Axar got out. You took him as a big hitter in the team, then put him in front. Don't go behind the left-right combination," he added.

Advertisment

"India started giving up after 60 or 70 for two. But if they had 150 on the board, they wouldn't have given up. It may have been difficult even for Marsh."

Former India Selector Also Slammed the Decision

The batting position of KL Rahul has also infuriated former India cricketer and selector Dodda Ganesh. “For heaven’s sake, please let KL Rahul bat at No. 5. Don’t waste him at 6 (sic)," Ganesh wrote on X (formerly Twitter) before adding, “Ok then. India will not change its strategy. It is criminal to push a batsman of KL Rahul’s quality to No. 6."

India’s Controversial Strategy

India has been putting faith in all-rounder Axar Patel’s batting abilities for some time now. The 31-year-old batted at No. 5 in the Champions Trophy, including in the final against New Zealand, where he scored a crucial knock of 29 on a challenging pitch to help India to a four-wicket win.

Advertisment

Team India has adopted a strategy of left-right combination after three right-handed batsmen in the Top 3. Dodda Ganesh has also blasted this strategy, saying, “The left-right combination in the batting is a nice thing to have. It is one of the many strategies to unsettle the opposition. But it’s not mandatory to design your batting order on this tactic, ignoring the quality of the batters. Greenidge-Haynes (RHB), Hayden-Langer (LHB)," he posted.

Rahul’s Versatility

Touted as one of the classy players in the current setup, KL Rahul has scored 3043 runs from 85 ODIs at an average of 49.08. He has scored seven centuries and 18 half-centuries. In his ODI career, he has batted in seven different spots from No. 1 to No. 7. 

Rahul has an average of 56.47 at No. 5, with 1299 runs from 31 innings. At No. 6, he scored 194 runs from eight innings at an average of 48.50.

Advertisment

India vs Australia 1st ODI

India's start to the Australia Tour did not go the Shubman Gill-led ODI team's way. India managed just 136/9 in a rain-curtailed 26-over match in Perth. Australia chased down the target with seven wickets to spare. While the Indian top four - Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer failed, leaving India at 45/4 within 14 overs. 

There was some resistance from No. 5 Axar Patel (31) and No. 6 KL Rahul (38). Australia won the match comfortably, with captain Mitchell Marsh leading the way with an unbeaten knock of 46.

Can India make a comeback in the 3-match ODI series? With several questions lying unanswered, analysts feel that India will go all out in the upcoming matches.

Advertisment