AB de Villiers has partly backed India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s recent remark that batting orders in ODIs are “overrated”, while stressing the importance of balancing flexibility with clearly defined roles. Speaking on his YouTube channel after India’s 2–1 series win over South Africa, de Villiers said he agreed with Gambhir to a point.

“I do agree with him to a certain extent. I’ve always enjoyed a floating batting lineup in ODIs. But it’s a fine line because you can’t really play around too much with the players’ roles,” he explained.

AB de Villiers argued that an effective ODI batting structure can be viewed in three broad zones — the top three, the middle-order quartet from four to six, and the lower-order hitters.

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Within that template, teams can experiment: rotate right-left handedness, shuffle finishers or promote power hitters depending on match situations. “You can be creative inside those segments,” he said, “but the core responsibilities must remain clear.”

The South African great also lauded India’s broader white-ball depth, pointing to the continued winning habit across formats. Praising India’s run of victories in T20Is and the confidence it breeds, de Villiers said consistent results in the shortest format indicate structural health: “It’s the most volatile format, and to string wins together you must be doing something right.”

Gambhir’s core point — openness beyond the opening pair — resonated through the discussion. After India’s nine-wicket win in Vizag, Gambhir had argued that besides the openers, the batting order in ODIs need not be rigid; teams should operate within a template while retaining tactical flexibility.

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The conversation between Gambhir and de Villiers underlines a larger trend in modern white-ball cricket: defined roles remain important, but clever rotation and matchup-based decisions are increasingly central to team construction.