India's fielding and death bowling needs to improve - Shubman Gill

4 Oct, 2026 9:45 AM, Sun

India's fielding and death bowling needs to improve - Shubman Gill

Even though India won the series against West Indies, Captain Shubman Gill said that there are still areas for improvement in ODIs. Prior to next year's World Cup, he specifically mentioned their fielding and death bowling as concerns.

Gill stated during the presentation, "I feel sometimes we are not really clear whether we are attacking or defending, especially when we are bowling in the death overs." "One-dayers] is such a game, if the opposition is five or six down, you are never really sure what fields to take, whether we are going for the death too early or we are still, you know, bowling kind of like middle overs," Gill said. I believe these are some areas in which we absolutely need to improve."

In this series, India were without Jasprit Bumrah (on duty for the Asian Games) and Hardik Pandya (injured), and they won't play many games until the 2027 World Cup. Coach Gautam Gambhir mentioned this, and the selection of the Xis seemed to indicate that the team was more interested in finding options than winning games.

Only one of the three games was played by Mohammed Siraj, and even in that one, he did not bowl in the dying stages at all. In the final ten overs in New Chandigarh, debutants Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, and even offspinner Naman Dhir bowled. Auqib Nabi, a rookie, helped West Indies squeeze West Indies in the back end in Guwahati (relatively speaking, in a game in which 405 played 406). Bowlers from both sides took a beating in conditions that were rarely in their favour but the experience gained might perhaps be worth it come next October. The back-ups are aware of their location. The front-runners are retracing their steps.

India chose to bat first on Saturday, falling to 4 for 2, but still managed to score 351. As he evaluated the team's performance throughout the three games, Gill stated, "Decently pleased [with the progress]." "However, I believe there are still some areas that need to be improved; I believe our fielding could be much better. We lost six or seven catches overall in the series, which is not a good sign heading into the World Cup. You want to have excellent fielding."

Despite the fact that West Indies were able to wrest back control and India were penalized for a slow over rate following the 46th over, Gill admitted that he was "happy" with the total he had on the board. Instead of the usual five, they had to bowl the final few deliveries with just four fielders on the fence.

Gill stated, "I think the game was in control." "However, knowing that we were four overs behind with this, I believe they took the game away from us in the final over. I think the game might have gone to the final over if, you know, we hadn't run out of overs.

Gill was named Player of the Series for his 334 runs, which included an unbeaten double-century in a successful chase of 406 runs. However, he admitted that he was disappointed that he didn't get to bat on Saturday. He missed a Jayden Seales pass to Shai Hope, who dived full stretch to his left to make a one-handed catch, and he was kicked out early.

He stated, "I mean, you're always disappointed whenever you get out early, but I think today I don't think there could have been much that I would have done on that ball." He was referring to the fact that he lost early.

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Team Rankings

Rank Team Rating Points
1 India 122 5117
2 Australia 116 3936
3 South Africa 112 3357
4 Pakistan 106 2762
5 New Zealand 101 3349
Rank Player Name Points
1 Babar Azam 824
2 Shubman Gill 801
3 V. Kohli 768
4 H.T. Tector 746
5 R.G. Sharma 746
Rank Player Name Points
1 K.A. Maharaj 716
2 J.R. Hazlewood 688
3 A. Zampa 686
4 Mohammed Siraj 678
5 J.J. Bumrah 665
Rank Player Name Points
1 Mohammad Nabi 320
2 Shakib Al Hasan 292
3 Sikandar Raza 288
4 A. Vala 248
5 Rashid Khan 239
Rank Team Rating Points
1 Australia 124 3715
2 India 120 3108
3 England 105 3151
4 South Africa 103 1845
5 New Zealand 96 2121
Rank Player Name Points
1 K.S. Williamson 859
2 J.E. Root 824
3 D.J. Mitchell 768
4 Babar Azam 768
5 S.P.D. Smith 757
Rank Player Name Points
1 R. Ashwin 870
2 J.J. Bumrah 847
3 J.R. Hazlewood 847
4 K. Rabada 834
5 P.J. Cummins 820
Rank Player Name Points
1 R.A. Jadeja 444
2 R. Ashwin 322
3 Shakib Al Hasan 310
4 J.E. Root 282
5 J.O. Holder 270
Rank Team Rating Points
1 India 266 14108
2 Australia 256 10241
3 England 254 9660
4 West Indies 252 11604
5 South Africa 251 8287
Rank Player Name Points
1 T.M. Head 844
2 S.A. Yadav 842
3 P.D. Salt 816
4 Babar Azam 755
5 Mohammad Rizwan 746
Rank Player Name Points
1 A.U. Rashid 719
2 Rashid Khan 681
3 P.W.H. De Silva 674
4 J.R. Hazlewood 662
5 A.J. Hosein 659
Rank Player Name Points
1 P.W.H. De Silva 222
2 Mohammad Nabi 214
3 H.H. Pandya 213
4 M.P. Stoinis 211
5 Sikandar Raza 210
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