3 reasons why Jos Buttler batting at No. 3 for GT in IPL 2025 is the wrong move
The Gujarat Titans (GT) began their 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with an 11-run defeat to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match was played on Tuesday, March 25.
Chasing a daunting 244, GT sprang up an early surprise by sending out Sai Sudharsan to open the innings with skipper Shubman Gill. The No. 3 is not an unfamiliar one for Jos Buttler as he has been donning a similar role for England recently, but there are doubts whether he can be the best possible version of himself in the position.
“We haven’t decided at which number he will bat, maybe we will get to know about it tomorrow during the match, but over the course of 8-9 years that he has played IPL, he has played at different numbers and he has performed. So, I don’t see that as a problem for us,” Shubman Gill had said during the pre-season press conference (via Sportstar).
While both Sudharsan (74) and Buttler (54) were among the runs, the modified top-order was far from a smooth-running operation. Sudharsan largely struggled in the initial stages of the powerplay, forcing Gill to go harder than usual, while Buttler had to deal with the spinners straightaway when the required rate climbed over 13.
On that note, let us look at three reasons why Jos Buttler batting at No. 3 for GT in IPL 2025 is the wrong move.
3 reasons why Jos Buttler batting at No. 3 for GT in IPL 2025 is the wrong move
#1 GT sacrificing Buttler's best strength and impact for the sake of left-right combination
Jos Buttler has made his reputation as one of the most destructive openers by taking down pace in the powerplay and dealing with spinners in the middle, while switching gears seamlessly. But the Englishman's process does not work when he walks midway into the innings with a different scenario compared to the start of the run chase.
Although Buttler's strike rate indicates that he is an ideal modern-day T20 player, the reality is that he is still a traditional T20 opener and not a revolutionary one.
The only argument in favor of Sai Sudharsan opening the batting is that he is left-handed. He does have a few great knocks while opening, but the same can be said for his exploits at No. 3 as well.
However, as long as the prowess is guaranteed, such factors should not matter. Take Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, for instance. The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be least concerned that they are left-handed batters because they have delivered. Similarly, Buttler and Gill have to open the batting for GT to get the best possible foundation.
GT are blessed to have two versatile players in Jos Buttler and Sai Sudharsan in their top order. However, they are choosing the wrong player to be versatile for the team's sake.
#2 Numbers dictate Buttler to open and Sai Sudharsan to operate at No. 3
Jos Buttler's strike rate against pace is 149.90 and the number only drops to 143 against spin, making him adept against both. With him and Gill at the top, opposition will be highly unlikely to introduce spin, and they are both quite good against pace too.
But in Sai Sudharsan's case, his game against spin is exceptional, as he has struck at 150.06 in the IPL so far. Furthermore, his dot ball percentage is only 20. It was quite evident in the manner he took down Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell recently.
However, the number drops to 135 against pace, a difference of 15 points, which is not monumental in the grand scheme of things, but quite relevant when compared to Buttler's.
More importantly, a huge concern stems from the fact that Sai Sudharsan only has a strike rate of 115 in the powerplay, which is downright unacceptable by modern standards. In comparison, the same figure reads 140 for Buttler, aligning far better with the opening role. In the clash against PBKS, Buttler played one ball in the powerplay, compared to Sai Sudharsan's 21 (of which he scored only 25 runs)
Both Buttler and Sai Sudharsan arguably need a while to get going, but the latter needs a touch more time. Even though the margin is only slight, it is a section in the powerplay which could be put to better use by Buttler instead.
From another standpoint, Sai Sudharsan taking up balls up top puts pressure on Shubman Gill right off the bat. The left-handed batter can afford to take a few balls to settle down while coming in at No. 3, because there will be a set batter at the other end.
#3 Buttler does not have the same sort of free hand at No. 3 as he has as an opener
The way GT are set up, they need one of their top three batters to play long, to make up for their slight frailties in the middle order. For that to happen, each of the top-order batters has to be at the right spot, where they are most comfortable, also according to what their strengths dictate.
Ideally, a batter like Buttler should play at a phase where he is most familiar, and where the pressure is the least. In both cases, the ideal match is the opening role instead of No. 3.
In the modern-day IPL, openers are required to play aggressively irrespective of the conditions or the situation, to an extent. Their task is to maximise the powerplay to the best of their abilities. But for a No. 3 batter, who is sometimes a makeshift opener or not-so-different from a middle-order batter, the situation dictates his play.
Buttler is conceivably far more comfortable being given a free hand at the top, constructing an innings as per his method, which has proven successful from an individual and team perspective for years. This ploy is far better than unnecessarily asking him to start midway through an innings with a complicated situation at hand against not-so-ideal match-ups.