Ex-India opener slams Suryakumar Yadav for experimenting with Axar Patel's batting position vs South Africa in 2nd T20I

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa called out Suryakumar Yadav for the team's bizarre batting order experiments in the second T20I against South Africa. Notably, Axar Patel was surprisingly elevated up the order at No.3 while Suryakumar himself dropped down and came in to bat at No.4.

This experiment didn't go on to benefit the Men in Blue as Axar was dismissed after scoring 21 runs from as many deliveries while Suryakumar continued his rough patch in T20Is and got dismissed for just five runs. The hosts eventually got bundled out for 162 and lost the match by a massive 51-run margin.

Uthappa's blunt take on India's batting experiments

Uthappa was left disappointed with the unnecessary experimentation of India's batting order and was critical of Suryakumar in particular. He took a jibe at the India skipper over the comments that he made before the series commenced and said that it will be very important for the Indian team to fix the problems with their batting order ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

“Well, honestly, that’s not how I see it. I’m only going by his words. In the pre-series press conference, he said the opening pair is set, but everyone else are moving pieces who must be flexible. With all due respect, I disagree," Uthappa said on JioStar after the match.

"When you’re chasing a big score, your solid batters — your best batters — should walk in. If you send a pinch-hitter, then he must play like one. If Axar was sent as a pinch-hitter today, he shouldn’t have scored 21 off 21; he should’ve gone hard and gotten out trying. But even that plan doesn’t convince me. After losing a top batter in the first or second over, you need stability at the crease. Something feels off here, and India must fix it before it becomes a habit," he added.

All level in the series

Meanwhile, the ongoing five-match T20I series between India and South Africa is currently level at 1-1. After the Men in Blue defeated the visitors by 101 runs in the opening game, the latter gave them a bold response and recorded a thumping victory in Punjab.

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The third T20I of the seriers will be played on December 14 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. It remains to be seen if the hosts will be able to bounce back from the heavy defeat and take the lead once again in the assignment.