It was yet another case of so near yet so far for Gujarat Titans at the IPL. GT have been the most consistent team in the T20 league since it started its journey in 2022. It finished as the champions in 2022, then the next year the team was runners-up. After not qualifying for the playoffs in 2024, GT entered the top-four yet again in 2025. Then in 2026, GT stormed into the final only to lose to defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
In the final, GT managed a below-par score of 155/8, which RCB chased down in 18 overs. GT had one of the most solid top threes in IPL 2026 – Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. However, in the final, Nishant Sindhu Was sent in at No. 3.
In a podcast, former England player Stuart Broad asked Buttler about the decision to send him in to bat one spot lower than his usual position. “When the first wicket went down, I got up to put my helmet on. But Ashish Nehra said, ‘You sit back down, we are going to send Nishant in at 3’. I did ask him after the game, and he just said it felt reactive at that point, and it was a good chance to get Nishant in the game as he’s a top-order batter,” Buttler said on. For The Love Of Cricket Podcast.
“He has been sometimes on that slippery slope where the team gets going, and he has ended up not batting or batting at 7. So it was a decision to get him in the game. He had batted ahead of me in another game against KKR. Right or wrong, it just didn’t work out for us,” he added.
Earlier, Broad was stunned at the demotion of Buttler in the batting order.
“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 the for the love of cricket YouTube channel.
“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,” said Broad.
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