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NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill was out of character when he addressed the media after the defeat at Lord’s in the third ODI. Generally calm, mostly poised and always composed, the captain appeared frustrated after losing his third ODI series since taking over from Rohit Sharma ahead of the Australia tour.The frustration stemmed not from the cricket his side had played in the England series and previous encounters, but from the constant onslaught of problems, breakdowns and injuries that hampered preparations and never allowed India to field their strongest line-up.Plenty of experimentation and movement in the batting order took place as combinations were tried out, but India’s injury crisis is a serious concern as they prepare for next year’s ODI World Cup.
Ever since discussions about the multinational event began, the management has been keen to have enough bowling options ready, but both their primary and back-up options, Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy, are camping at the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.While Reddy was injured during the ODI series against Afghanistan last month, Pandya is yet to feature in an ODI for India since the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March 2025. Even Harshit Rana, who is set for the No.8 role, has suffered two injuries in the last six months.
If you look at the first squad that we announced, at least five players did not play this game
Shubman Gill
The spin bowling department has had its problems as Washington Sundar has suffered several setbacks in the last six months: a side strain ahead of the T20 World Cup and a hamstring injury this month. Varun Chakravarthy, who was India’s X-factor in the Champions Trophy triumph, suffered a fracture before a Grade 2 hamstring injury ruled him out.To make matters worse, India’s star bowler Jasprit Bumrah played just two ODIs in the series against England and was dropped before Lord’s decided. This forced Gill to operate with a very inexperienced bowling attack featuring Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav. The captain was tight-lipped during the post-match press conference, stressing how the first-choice players remained unavailable throughout the series.
“If you look at the first squad we announced, at least five of those players didn’t play this game,” he said after the run of defeats at Lord’s. “If one player is injured, you look to play a different combination. If two players are injured, you look to play a different combination. But if a player is missing after every game, then we lack flair somewhere,” he added.Referring to the World Cup, where the team will play 11 matches in a row if they go all the way, the Indian captain pointed out that the players have not been able to finish even the short series.“If you keep the World Cup as a goal, where we have to play 11 games in a row, and here we have players who can’t finish a run of two or three games. So there is some limitation where our players cannot play continuously. They play one or two games, suffer problems and then we are forced to play another combination that we did not originally plan to play,” said Gill.
If you keep the World Cup as a goal, where we have to play 11 games in a row, and here we have players who cannot finish a series of two, three games.
Shubman Gill
Late problems, sometimes even on the morning before the game, further complicated matters.“So, with all of that in mind, it becomes a little bit difficult. You come to the field in the morning and you find out that a player has a problem. Then it’s kind of like, do you want to take a chance? Some player is 80% ready, you play with five pitchers and if this player goes out after five pitches, then who’s going to pitch? This is tough. So as a group, we have to improve our fitness and all that stuff,” he said. Gill.As of July 20, Pandya, Reddy, Chakravarthy and Rana are in a facility in Bengaluru, with Sundar expected to join the quartet to begin his rehabilitation. Apart from Reddy, the other four were part of the Indian team that won the Champions Trophy. Apart from Rana, who was injured during the warm-up, the other four were also part of the group that won the T20 World Cup 2026 title. Even two valiant players, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, recovered from hamstring injuries. For India to go all the way in next year’s ODI World Cup, they will need these five in top form and also need to ensure that the rest of the squad spends more time on the field than off it.
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