Gautam Gambhir‘s first ODI game as the Head Coach ended in a draw. Ideally, India must have won the game. Nevertheless, it is not too big a disappointment. Nevertheless, Gambhir must be wary of his tactics and should be careful about mixing formats. Here, we take a look at the list of three T20I strategies Gautam Gambhir must avoid in the ODI format.
1) Developing too many bowling options
The modern ODI game has changed but at the end of the, in the ideal template, a bowler must pick a wicket in the middle-overs. A batter must score runs at a good rate and keep his wicket.
Hence, it would be unnecessary to have a batter practice bowling because he could be vulnerable with the ball and his practice time with the bat shall reduce. This happened with Shubman Gill in the first ODI. It is understandable in T20Is. But in ODIs, not too many bowling choices are required.
2) Flexible batting order
Having a flexible batting order is one of the T20I strategies Gautam Gambhir must avoid in the ODI format. In the ODI format, a batting order is decided based on the strengths and weaknesses of a player. Hence, it is always a risk to play a batter out of position.
It was interesting to see Washington Sundar to walk out at No.4 against Sri Lanka. This delayed the entry points of both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. Sometimes, this could have a negative impact on the team.
3) Not having three frontline pacers
Yes, a lot depends on the conditions but when you are bowling 50 overs, it is important that you have three good pacers in the playing XI. For the additional bowling choice, you could pick a batter who can operate spin.
Having three pacers gives the captain the choice to exercise a lot of tactics. We saw how in the 2023 ODI World Cup, having Mohammed Shami as the first-change pacer helped Rohit Sharma wreak havoc with his captaincy.
