‘All-rounders biggest positive’: Gambhir and Surya's experiments backed as India win T20I series against Australia

India continued their T20 dominance with another series victory as an abandoned fifth game gave the Men in Blue a 2-1 victory in the five-match series against Australia. The fifth match of the series could not go beyond 4.5 overs due to thunderstorms in Brisbane.

The first game of the series was also abandoned but in between the two washouts, India bounced back after a crushing defeat in Melbourne to win back-to-back games and the series.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav tried different combinations in the three games. In fact, India tried all of the players in the squad except all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy who was injured.

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Irfan Pathan backs India’s ‘experiments’

While the selections did attract some questions, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan called the experimentation a correct decision.

“The way this team is experimenting, in my opinion, is also the correct call,” Pathan said on social media platform X.

Winning the series coming behind shows the mental strength of this Indian. Axar Patel,Shivam Dubey, Washington sundar biggest positive. What’s the way forward for the Indian team? Full video on my YT channel. pic.twitter.com/HCogGIzUj0

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 8, 2025

“Because, you do not want to be experimenting in the World Cup. You can do these experiments till the South Africa series and by the time New Zealand series arrives, you want to have stability in the team. This is the direction in which the Indian team is going,” he explained.

“The team also wants options in case of injuries. They really want to keep the options of many all-rounders in the squad,” he added.

“The three all-rounder who played in this series, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, were the biggest positives,” Pathan said.

Dube, Axar and Sundar had combined to pick up seven wickets in the fourth T20I where India bowled Australia out for 119. Sundar had also played a match-winning knock of 49 not out in the third match while Axar delivered an all-round performance in the fourth game.

Aaron wants stability

Meanwhile former India pacer Varun Aaron had a different view as he believed constant changes left India with more questions than answers.

“As the series progressed, it became clear that India has more questions to answer due to experimenting with different players and positions,” Aaron told JioStar. “Heading into the World Cup at home, they will likely want to firm up their core playing XI to bring stability under pressure. The upcoming five-match T20 series against South Africa at home will provide a vital opportunity to finalize selections.”

Nayar says core remains the same

Abhishek Nayar, who was till recently the assistant coach with the Indian team, said that despite the changes, the core remains the same.

“We’ve observed that no matter who steps in, they are capable of delivering strong performances,” Nayar said on JioStar. “That’s a testament to the high standards this Indian side has established.”

“One crucial point is that while the batting order has seen many changes, the spin bowling department has remained largely consistent. There is a clear sense of solidity in how India’s bowling attack is structured. Except for some rotation between Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, the core players remain mostly the same, just operating in slightly different roles,” Nayar added.

India still have five T20Is against South Africa and New Zealand each at home ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.