India head coach Gautam Gambhir recently opined that the batting order, especially in a One-Day International game, is highly overrated. The statement came in the midst of India's 2-1 series win against South Africa, where the skipper KL Rahul was constantly floated to bat at different positions in the middle order according to the team's needs, and excelled with a couple of half-centuries in the three-match series.
Commenting on Gambhir's opinion, legendary South Africa batter AB de Villiers has said that he does agree that there should be flexibility in the batting orders. According to him, having a dynamic batting line-up in the side can actually help the team tackle different challenges in different conditions of the match, especially since 50 overs is a long time to make or lose a momentum.
The former keeper-batter also feels that the left-hand-right-hand combination for batters works wonders for the sides, especially in white-ball cricket. De Villiers lauded Gambhir for sticking to his mantra of maintaining a left-right combo in the Indian team, which has eventually resulted in them winning the Champions Trophy as well as the Asia Cup in 2025.
