Gautam Gambhir’s penchant for shuffling cricketers has often come under sharp scrutiny, but the head coach insisted that “batting order is overrated” in white-ball cricket, strongly hinting of him sticking to his trusted ways.

Forced by the combination, Ruturaj Gaikwad, a genuine opener, had to bat at No. 4 in the just-concluded ODI series, while all-rounder Washington Sundar has been a perennial floater in the line-up. But Gambhir had his reasons. “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.