India’s ODI captain Shubman Gill has asked for all fit players to be made available for selection from India’s next series onwards, as he reckons there isn’t much scope left for experimentation with the preparations for the 2027 World Cup in full flow.
While India won the IND vs WI ODI series, the captain and management were left with plenty of questions to ponder hard over, most importantly, the bowling combination.
In the three-match series, India conceded 295 and 405 in the first two ODIs. While the batters pulled off consecutive chases in two games, India failed to defend 351 in the 3rd ODI in Mullanpur as Shai Hope mauled 162* to take his side over the line in a thriller.
This was the third-highest successful chase a team has made against India in ODIs and the highest made by West Indies in their ODI history. Hope’s 162* is the highest individual score in a run-chase by any batsman in ODIs.
We want to start playing with our World Cup combination: Shubman Gill
India’s bowling attack in this series has included Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Prasidh Krishna, Anshul Kamboj, Naman Dhir, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Barring Kuldeep in the 1st ODI, there weren’t any positives in the bowling department that was without Axar, Bumrah, Hardik, Arshdeep, and Harshit.
In the post-march press conference, Gill asserted his authority as the ODI captain in suggesting that India should play their first-choice combination from the next series, tacitly pointing out that some of the players are either injured or were part of the Asian Games squad.
Gill said, “I honestly don’t think there is that much time to experiment. The combination that we want to play, hopefully we get all the players that are available from the next series and the combination that we would like to play in the World Cup, we want to start playing with that combination”.
In the absence of the injured Harshit, India tried Nabi and Anshul, with neither making any substantial performance. Gill suggested that the management has zeroed in on these two players for the backup of Rana in the No. 8 spot as pacers who can also contribute with the bat.
“We don’t know who will be fit at the World Cup. And if we want someone who can bowl and can bat a bit at number 8, Anshul can do the job. And even Auqib can bat a bit and do the job,” the ODI captain added.
When is India’s next ODI series?
India’s next ODI series is in November, a five-match ODI series in New Zealand from November 4 to 15.
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