The Gujarat Titans didn’t do much wrong in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, but their tactics in the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium left a lot to be desired. The summit clash was eventually won by RCB as they emerged victorious by five wickets; however, the management of the Titans, especially head coach Ashish Nehra, is facing severe criticism for the decision to demote Jos Buttler down the batting order.
The final began with Josh Hazlewood removing Shubman Gill in the third over, and one expected to see Buttler coming out. However, the think tank decided to send the youngster, Nishant Sidhu, at No.3, and this move backfired, with the left-hander scoring just 20 runs off 18 balls.
Former England pacer Stuart Broad has now hit out at the management for not sending out Buttler, considering how he has the knack of changing the complexion of the game within a few overs.
“Buttler batted at 3 throughout the tournament. And then came the final, batting first, he moved down to bat at 4. I can’t get my head around why you changed the role in the final. Even AB de Villiers said it was a defensive move,” Broad said on ‘For the Love of Cricket’ Podcast.
“Buttler dropping down was surprising as it’s not like he’s not exposed to the new ball, having opened so much for England. It does seem slightly curious. The only rationale behind the move was the think tank feeling the pitch was going to get better and have the guy at No.3 to just stay at the crease until the wicket got better for batting, allowing Jos to catch up and do his thing,” he added.
‘Problems’
When Sindhu walked out to bat, former South Africa captain AB de Villiers also lashed out at the move, calling it a “defensive tactic.” Just like the previous season, the bulk of the scoring for the Titans in the IPL 2026 season was done by Gill and Sai Sudharsan, who both scored in excess of 700 runs.
However, Broad reckons that with both batters scoring this number of runs, the middle order went undercooked into the final.
“The problems of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan each scoring over 700 runs were seen in the final. When your openers are this consistent, it doesn’t give your middle order much exposure under pressure. And when you need them, they might not be able to drag you over the line. Both openers failed today, and immediately, the thought was they were done,” said Broad.
The IPL 2026 final saw GT post 155/8 in 20 overs, only to see RCB overhauling the target with five wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare as Virat Kohli returned with an unbeaten 75.
