Mullanpur, Oct 4 : Wary of not being able to field a settled eleven because of injuries and tight scheduling, India skipper Shubman Gill wanted to give regular opportunities to the players who will potentially make it to the ICC World Cup 2027 in the upcoming ODI matches.
India fielded largely second string players against the West Indies in the just-concluded three-match series, which India won 2-1.
But in the absence of regulars like Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, who were away at the Asian Games, Indian bowling lacked the desired sting.
Additionally, pacer Prasidh Krishna joined the growing injury list during the second ODI at Guwahati.
“I honestly think there is not 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,” Gill said in the post-match press conference, after his side went down by five wickets.
Gill found the rather frequent absence of frontline bowlers from the first eleven frustrating, considering the limited number of ODIs ahead of the ICC showpiece.
“I would say it’s been unfortunate, you know, with the injuries and with the scheduling with the other matches being around, it’s been a little bit unfortunate that we have been not able to play the bowling lineup that we would like to,” he said.
But Gill said it also gives an opportunity to the new set of bowlers to showcase their skills.
“I think it’s a good chance for the other players, you know, the players who might have not been in the team had the full-strength bowling lineup been there, so it’s a great chance for them to showcase their skills,” he said.
‘Death, power play bowling hurt us’
With India failing to make inroads in the powerplay in all three matches, Gill felt that not getting early wickets hurt them in the West Indies series.
“I think bowling in the powerplay and in the death has been something, you know, that has hurt us.
“If you don’t get off to a good start in the powerplay, we have seen in the middle overs it’s not easy to take wickets. It’s not easy to create chances with only four fielders being outside.
“The intensity of the game which it goes at becomes completely different if you don’t take if you don’t keep taking wickets either in the powerplay or in the middle overs.
“And, you know, that’s the reason why this series has been so high-scoring because it’s been difficult for the bowlers,, to take wickets in the middle overs, “ he explained.
In the third and final ODI here on Saturday, Windies skipper Shai Hope struck an unbeaten 162 to take his team home in a record chase of 352.
Gill rued dropping too many catches, saying it broke the team’s momentum.
“I think we dropped around three or four catches today, and I don’t think Shai Hope was dropped, still dropping three or four catches breaks the momentum of the team.
“Our fielding in the series has not been up to the mark. I think in the whole series, we dropped around seven catches if I’m not wrong.
And even in the field today, we gave away many runs, we were quite sloppy. And I think leading up to the World Cup, these are the areas where we definitely need to get better at.”
Pacers Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj made their debut in the series but Gill did not miss the fact that both the bowlers were underwhelming.
“I think they would have liked to have done a much better job, a little bit harsh on them. It’s not easy to come and be able to deliver straight away. In international cricket, sometimes you require a bit of time.
“Very few players just come in and start delivering for the team. I hope that they learn from their mistakes, from their opportunities that they get,” said Gill.
All-rounder Nitish Reddy came in place of Ravindra Jadeja in the third ODI, but Gill clarified that the veteran left-arm spinner’s omission was more due to team combination compulsions.
“Firstly, I don’t think Jaddu bhai was dropped. Going forward, I think we will have discussions with the selectors. Whatever we feel is right for the team keeping the World Cup in mind and whoever can offer us more with their skill set in those conditions, we will keep them in the squad,” he concluded.
