Former cricketer Manoj Tiwary has slammed Team India’s decision to tweak the top-order for the second ODI against Afghanistan at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, on Wednesday, June 17. The Men in Blue brought back Yashasvi Jaiswal into the playing XI, pushing the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan down the batting order.
Team India made three changes to their side after the solid win in the series opener in Dharamshala. Amid Nitish Kumar Reddy’s absence due to injury, the lower middle-order will be handled by the likes of KL Rahul and Washington Sundar.
Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been slotted at the top of the order to forge a left-hand-right-hand partnership, while Shubman Gill will bat at No.3 for the sixth time in his ODI career.
Manoj Tiwary opined that all of this shuffling will just lead to unnecessary confusion for Team India, especially if Gill succeeds in the new batting position.
“It will just create a headache for the future, and nothing else, if they open with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, and demote Shubman Gill. Now, if he scores runs there, he will be thinking, should I go back to the top or not. So, I have no idea what they are trying to do at all. I see a massive lack of clarity here, but it feels good to see Jaiswal play, because he deserves to play all formats,” Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
The former India batter also noted that the shuffling should not affect Rohit Sharma, who is already under enough pressure as it is.
“If Rohit Sharma somehow does not fire today, then there will be a lot of mental pressure from the outside,” he added.
Shubman Gill last featured at No.3 in an ODI during the series opener against England in the 2025 home series, when Virat Kohli sustained a last-minute injury. In the five matches at No.3 in ODIs, he has scored 266 runs at an average of 53.20 and a strike rate of 102.70, including a hundred and a fifty.
Shubman Gill steps out to bat at No.3 after Yashasvi Jaiswal departs for 4 in IND vs AFG 2026 2nd ODI
Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to make the most of the opportunity after being dismissed for just four runs in the second ODI. The southpaw was caught at point, after trying to cut away a short and wide delivery in the second over.
At the time of writing, Gill is off the mark with a sublime cover drive, as Team India’s score reads 15-1 after three overs.
Edited by Gokul Nair
