Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen believes England should promote Ben Stokes up the batting order in the T20I format. Stokes came down to bat at no. 6 position in the 5th T20I against India as Eoin Morgan-led side lost quick wickets in the 225-run chase.
There was a brief period in the match when it looked like Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler might put the visitors on the course to a victory. But after India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed the latter, England started losing wickets at regular wickets.
Stokes, in any format of the game, is a game-changer. But on Saturday, by the time he came out to bat, the asking rate had climbed up, and the left-hander struggled to settle himself down.
England could only reach 188/8, losing the match by 36 runs, as the Virat Kohli-led India won the series 3-2.
In a tweet, Pietersen wrote that Stokes should bat higher up the order.
“Ben Stokes is completely wasted at 6 as a batter and bowling part time. Bairstow in T20’s is an opener. If he doesn’t open, Stokes bats 4,” Pietersen wrote in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the losing captain Morgan after the match said the series was a learning experience for him.
“Playing against a strong Indian team in their conditions was fantastic. Another fantastic game today. India outplayed us in big moments and deserved to win. We’ve played some good cricket through the series too. So lots of positives for us,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We bat quite deep, and we tend to take advantage of that. Big moments in this series came when we weren’t able to take advantage of that with our middle order. Always feel we have the talent in the changing room to give it a crack.
