Gautam Gambhir has finally explained his controversial decision to deploy Jasprit Bumrah heavily in the powerplay during the Asia Cup rather than saving him for the death overs. The India head coach revealed it was a deliberate strategy to make the team aggressive not just with the bat, but with the ball as well.​

Powerplay Attack Strategy

“A lot of people relate to this T20 side as a very aggressive batting lineup. For me, I think bowling Jassi three in the first six was an even more aggressive option with the ball,” Gambhir said in a BCCI interview. "We don’t want to be a side which is only known as an aggressive batting order. We want to be a side which should be known as an aggressive side overall."​

Bumrah bowled three of his four overs in the first six during India’s victorious Asia Cup campaign in September. The strategy surprised many fans who were accustomed to seeing India’s premier pacer reserved for crunch situations at the death.​

The Results

The approach yielded results. Bumrah took seven wickets in five Asia Cup matches at an economy rate of 7.43 and an average of 19.28. More importantly, his early breakthroughs helped India dominate the powerplay phase consistently.​

“We wanted to see how it pans out, we wanted to see where it takes us in future as well, and I thought that Asia Cup has really worked well for us, because bowling Jassi in the first three obviously makes us win the powerplay most of the time,” Gambhir explained.​

Empowering the Spinners

The strategy had a knock-on effect on India’s middle-overs bowling. With Bumrah setting the tone early, spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav had more freedom to attack.

“Then obviously we got two wicket-taking options in the middle with Varun and Kuldeep, so it gives them a lot of leverage to bowl with freedom in the middle phase, and we can take wickets all the time. I think it was a very aggressive move,” Gambhir stated.​

By establishing early control through Bumrah’s powerplay dominance, India could maintain pressure throughout the innings rather than waiting until the death to deploy their trump card.​

Living in the Moment Gambhir emphasized that this approach reflects India’s broader tactical philosophy. “We want to play the game thinking where we are at the moment rather than thinking where we want to be after the 18th or the 17th over mark,” he said.​

The coach wants his team to respond to situations as they unfold rather than adhering to predetermined plans about when to use specific bowlers.​

Seven to Eight Bowling Options

In the same interview, Gambhir discussed India’s preference for deep batting lineups that also provide multiple bowling options. “The more the merrier, that is something which is important. It is always better to have more options than less options,” he said.​

Under Gambhir, India have aimed for seven to eight bowling options by packing all-rounders like Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar into the playing eleven. This gives the team flexibility to rotate bowlers based on match situations without being constrained by limited resources.​

Axar and Washington’s Growth

The coach expressed confidence that all-rounders like Washington Sundar and Axar Patel will excel at the T20 World Cup. “Not only in subcontinent conditions, the quality they have, I think they are going to flourish in most of the conditions as well,” Gambhir stated.​

He highlighted Washington’s bowling success over the past seven to eight months and Axar’s contributions batting at number five during the Champions Trophy, where he bowled tough powerplay overs and performed well in the middle.​

T20 World Cup Preparations

Despite India’s Asia Cup triumph, Gambhir believes the team isn’t yet where it needs to be for the T20 World Cup scheduled for February-March in India and Sri Lanka. “I think we still aren’t where we want to be come the T20 World Cup. From the fitness point of view, we still aren’t where we want to be,” he admitted.​

The coach emphasized that improved fitness leads to greater mental strength during pressure situations. “The fitter we are, the more mentally strong we are. Because come the pressure games, come the pressure situation, the more physically strong you are, the more mentally strong you are. We still have three months to be where we want to be,” Gambhir added.​