Ashish Nehra asked Jos Buttler to 'sit back down' in IPL final vs RCB for 'reactive' tactical move that backfired

IPL final witnessed a quirky move by losing team Gujarat Titans. Jos Buttler, who was at the receiving end of that move, has now revealed the rationale behind the decision.

Jos Buttler spills the beans on why Nishant Sindhu batted ahead of him in the IPL final vs RCB. Image: Reuters

FirstCricket Staff|Jun 03, 2026, 16:32:45 IST

Jos Buttler has finally revealed the reasoning why Nishant Sindhu batted ahead of him in the IPL final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as Gujarat Titans (GT) coach Ashish Nehra asked him to 'sit down' and give the youngster a chance. GT had a horrendous 2026 IPL final as they suffered a five-wicket loss last Sunday.

The 2022 IPL champions scored just 155/8 batting first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with their famed top-order failing. Skipper Shubman Gill was first to get out in the third over, but he was not replaced by the ever-reliable Buttler, but Nishant Sindhu, who scored 20 off 18 balls.

When Nehra asked Buttler to 'sit down'

It's not that Buttler had a memorable final, scoring a slow-paced 19 off 23 balls before being stumped off Krunal Pandya.

Nonetheless, speaking about his demotion in the IPL final, Buttler has revealed that it was a tactical call by Nehra, who wanted Sindhu to get settled in early.

"When the first wicket went down, I got up to put my helmet on. 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 said on For The Love of Cricket Podcast.

Buttler added that Nehra wanted to counter Sindhu's rustiness by sending him early.

"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," Buttler added.

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