Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad has criticized Gujarat Titans (GT) for fielding Jos Buttler down the batting order during the IPL 2026 final against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31.
Broad said this after RCB’s historic title win in Ahmedabad Gujarat Titans Made a costly mistake by changing his batting order in the final. RCB defended the trophy by defeating GT by five wickets in the title match, becoming only the third team in IPL history to do so.
Gujarat Titans’ biggest mistake in IPL 2026 final against RCB
Gujarat Titans get off to a bad start after being asked to bat first by Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Rajat Patidar. Captain Shubman Gill was out cheaply after scoring just 10 runs. Losing Gill was already a big blow as he was in tremendous form, but what happened next surprised everyone.
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Instead of sending veteran England batsman Jos Buttler to No. 3, where he had batted successfully throughout the season, Gujarat Titans promoted uncapped player Nishant Sindhu. It was a bold move, but it did not work, as Sindhu was out for 20 runs off 18 balls.
Jos Buttler’s demotion backfires due to Stuart Broad’s GT strategy breach
Butler, who came at number four, also struggled to make an impact. The former England captain was out for 19 off 23 balls and GT never gained momentum. They were bowled out for 155/8 as RCB chased down the target with five wickets and two overs to spare in Ahmedabad.
After Gujarat Titans missed the chance to lift the trophy, stuart broad Criticized the team management for changing the successful batting formula in the IPL final. Buttler has been impressive at No. 3 this season, scoring 526 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 152.46.
Stuart Broad said on the For the Love of Cricket podcast: “Buttler batted at number three throughout the tournament. And then came into the final batting first; he came down to bat at number four. I can’t understand why you changed the role in the final. Even AB de Villiers said it was a defensive move.”
Steven Finn surprised by Gujarat Titans’ Jos Buttler’s move in IPL 2026 final
Meanwhile, former England fast bowler steven finn Questions were raised on this step also. He believes that Buttler has enough experience to handle the new ball. However, he feels that GT expected the pitch to become easier to bat on later, but the gamble failed miserably in the big game.
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Finn said during the same discussion, “Buttler’s fall was surprising, because it’s not like he hasn’t faced the new ball, he’s opened so well for England. It feels a bit strange. The only reasoning behind the move was that the think tank felt the pitch was going to be better and the No. 3 man was supposed to stay at the crease until the wicket became better for batting, giving Jos the chance to do his thing.”
Stuart Broad explains why GT lost in IPL 2026 final
Well, Broad also revealed that Shubman Gill and Sai Sudarshan Most of the runs are being scored for GT, and that is why the middle order rarely has to handle difficult situations under pressure. But both Gill and Sudarshan failed miserably in the final and Buttler’s call inadvertently exposed their weakness.
Broad said, “Shubman Gill and Sai Sudarshan’s problem of scoring more than 700 runs was seen in the final. When your openers are so consistent, it doesn’t give your middle order much exposure under pressure. And when you need them, they may not be able to pull you over the line. Both openers failed today, and immediately, the thought was that they were finished.”