“That tactic has been used, and it has never been good” – Ambati Rayudu questions Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy calls in NZ vs IND 2026 5th T20I

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu was critical of some of captain Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy and erratic decision-making after India lost the fifth T20I to New Zealand by seven wickets at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday. The visitors had already sealed the series at 3-1, but the 192-run target posted by the Men in Blue was chased down in 18 overs, as Tim Seifert made 93 off 50 and Glenn Phillips remained unbeaten on 65 off 38 to help the Blackcaps end the series on a positive note.

The run chase was interestingly poised at 96-2 at the halfway stage, with the in-form Glenn Phillips new to the crease and batting on 2 off 5 balls. Shreyas Iyer gave the ball to part-time spinner Abhishek Sharma at that stage with two right-handers at the crease. The left-arm bowler conceded a boundary off the first ball and ended up conceding 13 runs to be taken off the attack.

Ambati Rayudu questioned the aforementioned decision, arguing that it impacted the momentum of the innings as New Zealand did not turn back after that, and ended up cruising to the target.

“That tactic has been used, and it has never been good. Maybe in the early phases of T20 cricket it worked, but eventually people are ready when you bring a part-timer on. You want to maximize those six balls as a batter. That is exactly what happened, and it shifts the momentum as well. Obviously, in hindsight, you can say a lot of things, but Shreyas definitely does not have the kind of resources the other captains had in terms of bowlers. Eventually, when Shreyas has confidence in the bowlers that are developing like Prince Yadav, he will operate them very differently,” Ambati Rayudu said on Cricbuzz.

The second call made by Shreyas Iyer that Ambati Rayudu questioned was the sixth over of the chase, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was handed a third straight over inside the powerplay. New Zealand were 39 for 1 after five overs, but finished the powerplay on 59-1. The veteran pacer had conceded 11 from his first two overs with the new ball, but ended with poor figures of 0-41 after coming into the side in place of Mayank Yadav.

“I would have bowled him if a set batter was not around. Tim Seifert had already played two overs against him. So, I would have tried another bowler at that stage. Simply because three overs in a row have been very difficult on bowlers in the past as well. When it comes to Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir, I don’t think they like to relay messages in real time. Shreyas Iyer does not like too many inputs and information. That should change eventually because you need to shift with the times,” Rayudu added.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar finishes his comeback series with only one wicket in four matches, conceding less than 40 runs in a game only on one occasion.

“The gut call ended up looking very silly” – Murali Kartik on Shreyas Iyer’s decision to give Abhishek Sharma an over in NZ vs IND 2026 5th T20I

New Zealand raced off to 109-2 after Abhishek Sharma’s over, forcing Shreyas Iyer to bring spearhead Arshdeep Singh back into the attack. However, it did not pay off as Tim Seifert ended up adding 86 for the third wicket.

Former India spinner Murali Kartik also agreed that the India captain’s left-field decision of giving Abhishek Sharma an over at a crucial juncture backfired massively.

“Abhishek did not bowl a particularly good over. It was as if he was scared to put the ball to the other end, because there were two or three short balls. The gut call ended up looking very silly,” Murali Kartik said.

After not losing a T20I in New Zealand for 10 straight games, India have lost back-to-back matches in the country, but still secured their third straight series win in the format there.

Edited by Gokul Nair