Gautam Gambhir's Axar Patel Ahead of Suryakumar Yadav Tactic Faces Criticism From Dale Steyn: 'Not When Your Best Batter...'

Ind vs SA: Once vice-captain Shubman Gill perished for a golden duck during the 2nd T20I at Mullanpur on Thursday, Axar Patel was promoted up the order at No. 3. Now, this call from Gambhir is facing much criticism. Former South African pacer Dale Steyn reckoned it was Gambhir's ‘big mistake’. As per Steyn, captain Suryakumar Yadav should have been trusted at that position. Steyn reckoned sending Axar at No. 3 was like sending him to the wolves. He also said that too much experimentation is not good and it is better to keep things simple. 

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‘Throwing Axar to the wolves’

“He’s supposed to be your best batter. That’s not a trial-and-error situation — that’s just a major mistake in my opinion. And yes, Axar can bat, but sending him there felt like throwing him to the wolves. What was the role? If he walked in to slog from ball one, fine. Or if Abhishek had gotten out first and you wanted to maintain a left-right combination, that also makes sense. But it was a right-hander who got out, and you ended up with two left-handers at the top. A lot of question marks there. Perhaps there’s experimentation happening, similar to what's happening in South Africa. But tonight, in a match where you could’ve gone 2–1 up, I’d have sent your best batters and kept things simple," the South Africa great said.

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Can India Take Lead at Dharamsala? 

The third game of the series takes place in Dharamsala and the hosts would like to bounce back to winning ways. The game takes place on December 14.