India vs South Africa T20I Series: Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers said he agrees “to a certain extent” with India head coach Gautam Gambhir's belief that ODI batting orders are “overrated”, but stressed the need for teams to balance flexibility with clearly defined roles.
Following India's 2-1 ODI series win against South Africa, Gambhir had said that he thought batting orders are overrated in the ODI format.
"I think in a one-day format, you should know the template that you want to play with. I’ve always believed that in white-ball cricket, batting orders are very overrated, except the opening combination," said Gambhir after India defeated South Africa by 2-1 in the ODI series.
De Villiers echoed Gambhir’s opinions on flexible batting orders in ODIs, stressing the need to balance a clear role with experiments.
“I do agree with him to a certain extent. I've always enjoyed a floating batting lineup in ODIs. But it's a fine line because you can't really play around too much with the players' roles," De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
"It's the top three, four to six, and then your tailenders who can hold the bat. It's almost like three segments, and you can really be creative with that. Play with right and left-hand combinations and certain situations of the game.”
India lifted the first T20I against South Africa to extend their winning run to 27 victories out of 31 matches.
Lavishing praise on the Indian team, de Villiers said: "It has been incredible, especially for a T20 format. It's the most volatile format of the three, and to have that kind of consistency tells you there must be something going on that's heading in the right direction."
"I think it's got to do with the depth of Indian cricket,” said de Villiers.
