Varun Aaron does not understand India’s batting order, citing the example of Axar Patel over Sanju Samson vs Bangladesh.
Varun Aaron: ‘Axar ahead of Samson? I do not understand it’.
After being limited to 168 for 6 in their Asia Cup 2025 Super Four encounter against Bangladesh, India’s constant batting order changes came under scrutiny. India was only able to score 56 for 4 in the final nine overs after being inserted, having been 72 for 0 in the powerplay and 112 for 2 after 11.
India’s batting order was deemed “inexplicable” by Aakash Chopra, while Varun Aaron was “perplexed” by Sanju Samson’s complete boycott of batting. Shivam Dube entered at number three and holed out to long-off for two runs off three balls in the same over after Rishad Hossain had removed Shubman Gill in the seventh over.
Chopra and Aaron have their say
“When Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma were batting, it looked like a very good batting surface – you can play through the line. You could actually hit wherever you wanted. But then a wicket falls, and then the batting order is inexplicable,” Chopra said. “What India were trying to do with the batting order is baffling to say the least. [Bangladesh] bowled alright but we [India] just compounded our problems with a very weird batting line-up. I cannot wrap my head around it.”
Varun Aaron echoed those thoughts: “They thought they could get Dube on to take down the spinners. But Sanju Samson is another option; he could have been slotted in early today. We know how he enjoys [batting] slightly up top.”
“Axar ahead of Samson? I do not understand it,” Aaron said. “The man [Samson] got three T20I centuries last year, you’ve got to cut him some slack.
“There’s not much difference in the strike rates of the Indian batters. It is not like we have four batters who strike above 150 and have a couple who can only play run a ball. Every batter in that top eight can bat at a very high strike rate. I don’t see any motive behind so much chopping and changing in the batting line-up.”
Suryakumar Yadav explains the batting change
Sitanshu Kotak, India’s batting coach, stated that “everyone is prepared to bat at any number” and that the team has been adaptable with their batting order throughout the competition. Maintaining a left-right combination at the crease is one of the reasons behind that. Depending on whether Samson or Abhishek fell, Suryakumar Yadav or Tilak Varma took the No. 3 spot when Samson opened the innings prior to the Asia Cup.
Suryakumar gave an explanation of the reasoning for the move during the post-match presentation. “Looking at their bowling line-up – they had a left-arm spinner [Nasum Ahmed], they had a legspinner [Rishad] – Dube was a perfect match-up at that moment. And his entry point was perfect – seven to 15 overs. So we took that chance. It did not go well, but in the games ahead, we might try doing that [again].”