India achieved a commanding 3-0 sweep in their three-match ODI series against England with a thrilling 142-run victory in the third match on Wednesday in Ahmedabad. Despite some inconsistency in the batting order that raised eyebrows, India's head coach, Gautam Gambhir, defended the team's strategy, emphasising that such decisions are integral to how the team wants to play cricket. During the first two games, India promoted Axar Patel to play at no.5 and KL Rahul was sent down the order, which attracted a lot of criticism. However, Gambhir, downplaying the noise, felt that it’s all about the impact.
"That's the way cricket is meant to be played. I know a lot of people talk about it, but that's the way we got to play the game, and that's the way cricket should be played. It's not about the batting order, it's about who can create what impact. And it's about just if you have the option of putting a quality left-hand batter in the middle; why won't you do that?,” Gambhir said in the press conference.
"Why would you want to have top five as right-handers? We don't look at averages and stats and all that stuff. We look at who can deliver more at that number. And Axar has done fabulously well. Both the games, he got the opportunity, he delivered for us. I know there will always be talk - there will always be people talking about it - but I think that's the way we want to go in future as well,” he said.
Following the series win, India are brimming with confidence heading into the Champions Trophy where they will kickoff their campaign by clashing with Bangladesh on February 20 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.