NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill was out of character as he spoke to the media after the defeat at Lord’s in the third ODI. Usually calm, composed and composed at all times, the skipper looked dejected after losing his third ODI series since taking on Rohit Sharma for the Australian tour.Disappointment did not start with the cricket that his team played in the England series and the previous matches, but due to the usual problems, breakdowns and injuries that hampered preparations and did not allow India to field their strongest Playing XI.A lot of testing and a walk in the batting line-up was done in the test mix, but India’s injury woes are a major concern as they prepare for next year’s ODI World Cup.
Ever since the start of the international tournament, the management has been keen to have adequate seam drills, but their starting and backup options, Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy, are camping at the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.While Reddy injured himself in an ODI against Afghanistan last month, Pandya has not featured in an ODI for India since the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March 2025. Even Harshit Rana, who is being groomed for the No. 8 spot, has faced two injury problems in the last six months.
If you look at the first team that we announced, from that, at least five players did not play the game
Shubman Gill
The spin-bowling department has had its share of problems as Washington Sundar has faced a number of problems in the past six months: side problems ahead of the T20 World Cup and an abdominal injury this month. Varun Chakravarthy, who was India’s X-factor in the Champions Trophy win, suffered a hair loss before injuring his groin in Group 2 in action.To make matters worse, India’s star bowler Jasprit Bumrah played only two ODIs in the series against England and was dropped before Lord’s selectors. This forced Gill to work with an ill-informed threat involving Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav. The skipper did not speak at the post-match press conference, pointing out how the first-choice players were absent from the rest of the series.
“If you look at the first squad we announced, from that, at least five players didn’t play the game,” he said after the series defeat at Lord’s. “If one player is injured, you look for another joint play. If two players are injured, you look for another joint play. But if after every game a player is missing, then somewhere we are missing a trick,” he added.Referring to the World Cup, where the team will play 11 games in a row if it goes ahead, the Indian captain emphasized how the players are unable to finish even the short games.“If you keep the World Cup as a goal, where we have to play 11 games in a row, and now we have players who cannot finish two or three games. So there is a limit where our players are not able to play continuously.
If you keep the World Cup as a goal, where we have to play 11 matches in a row, and now we have players who cannot finish two or three matches.
Shubman Gill
Late challenges, sometimes until the morning of the game, are even more difficult.“So remembering all this, it’s a little difficult. You come down in the morning and you know that a player has a problem. So it’s like, do you want to take a chance? Another player has 80% fit, you’re playing with five players and if this player is out after bowling five, then who will do the dishes? This is difficult. So, as our team, we need to fix all the things that Gill has to improve,” he said, as a team, and we need to fix all of that.As of July 20, Pandya, Reddy, Chakravarthy and Rana are on location in Bengaluru, and Sundar is expected to join the quartet to begin the renovations. Apart from Reddy, the other four were part of India’s Champions Trophy winning squad. Apart from Rana, who was injured during the preparations, the other four were part of the team that won the 2026 T20 World Cup title. Even the tough duo, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have recovered from their injuries. For India to go to the ODI World Cup next year, they will need these five to be at their best and ensure that the rest spend more time on the field than off.