Ex-India Pacer Criticises Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Mindless Experiment’ In ODI series vs England

India has dominated England in the first two ODIs of the ongoing three-match series before the Champions Trophy 2025 to seal the contest. Many fans and pundits have predicted the Blue Brigade as a favorite to win the campaign.

The biggest plus point for the runners-up of the last game was Rohit Sharma’s comeback. The veteran opener dropped himself from the middle of the series against Australia after adding just 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20 down under. But he smashed a fine century at a strike rate of 132.22 to end the dry form.

Healthy problems for India in the ODI series vs England

The Rohit Sharma-led side won both the games in Nagpur and Cuttack by four wickets. But an interesting selection in the batting department took place during the two encounters. The head coach, Gautam Gambhir, made a pre-planned ploy of sending left-handed batter Axar Patel at number five ahead of the wicket-keeper KL Rahul.

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Rohit addressed the importance of having a left-hander at the number five position to tackle the spinners, but that pushes the wicket-keeper batter, KL Raul, to number six. That’s a position he doesn’t love a lot. The Bengaluru-born managed two runs in the first game and made 10 in the second.

The right-handed batter has cracked 54 runs in four innings at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 78.26, with the best score of 31. His record at number five is superb, with 1259 runs in 30 innings at an average of 57.23 and a strike rate of 95.45.

Ex-India fast bowler voices his opinion on KL Rahul’s position

Many fans and pundits didn’t accept India’s decision to demote the Karnataka player in the batting order. Dodda Ganesh, the former pacer of the national side, wasn’t an exception. He lashed out at Gambhir’s ‘mindless experiment’ before the Champions Trophy, asking if he would have pulled off the same tactic if the top order had collapsed for five runs.

“Axar Patel again ahead of KL Rahul? I’m speechless. Does it make any sense to push a genuine batter like Rahul to no 6? When you’re 5/3, do you have the courage to send Axar on a tricky pitch? If not, what sense does this experiment make? Mindless this.” Ganesh tweeted on his X handle, formerly known as Twitter.

In Nagpur, Axar celebrated a fabulous half-century at number five in the batting department. Overall, the left-handed batter has smacked 177 runs in five innings at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of around 100.

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“KL Rahul has been best at no 5, but the wise men in the dressing room find different ways to demote him in this batting line-up. Ridiculous. What are you going to achieve by sending Axar at no 5?” Ganesh had questioned the same swap in the batting line-up earlier in the series in Nagpur.

Rishabh Pant to replace KL Rahul in Ahmedabad?

With India already pocketing the series before the final encounter, the question remains whether the management will look to bring Rishabh Pant for the Ahmadabad clash. The Delhi-born featured in an ODI clash in 2024 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Rahul’s successive low scores could be a concern for the management going into the Champions Trophy. But his number at five in the batting order is exceptional. He was also India’s fourth leading run-getter in the 2023 ODI World Cup with 452 runs at a strike rate of 90.76, thanks to two fifties and one century.