For Gujarat Titans, IPL 2026 once again delivered the familiar mix of promise and heartbreak — the kind of campaign that feels “so near, so far”. Since the franchise began its IPL journey in 2022, GT have rarely looked out of place, finishing as champions in their debut year and then stepping into the role of runners-up the following season. After missing the playoffs in 2024, they bounced back to reach the top four again in 2025, and in 2026 they looked set for redemption as they surged into the final. However, the result swung against them this time: they fell short against the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The showpiece match ended with GT posting a total of 155/8, a score that proved chaseable. RCB completed the run chase in 18 overs to lift the trophy. Gujarat’s batting had included some dependable top-order structure throughout the tournament, with Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler forming one of the steadier combinations in the competition. Yet the final carried a notable twist in batting order: Nishant Sindhu was promoted in at number three.
The decision to reshuffle the order became a talking point in the aftermath. In a conversation on a podcast, former England cricketer Stuart Broad questioned Buttler about why he was asked to bat one position lower than his usual spot. Buttler explained that the switch happened immediately after the first wicket fell. “When the first wicket went down, I got up to put my helmet on,” Buttler said. “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 added on the For The Love of Cricket Podcast.
Buttler went on to describe the logic as an attempt to prevent the innings from drifting into an unfamiliar pattern for the promoted batter. “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 said.
Broad, meanwhile, admitted he was left stunned by how the role for Buttler changed in the final. “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,” Broad said. He also noted that even AB de Villiers had framed the adjustment as a more defensive approach. “Even AB de Villiers said it was a defensive move,” Broad added on the for the love of cricket YouTube channel.
Broad further argued that the demotion was difficult to understand because Buttler has faced the new ball regularly throughout his international career, including his opening responsibilities for England. “Buttler dropping down was surprising as it’s not like he’s not exposed to the new ball, having opened so much for England,” Broad said. He suggested the only plausible reasoning was a belief that the surface would improve as the innings progressed — prompting the thinking that the batter at number three could stay and build until the wicket became easier, enabling Jos to then “catch up” and play his natural game. “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,” Broad concluded.
