Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif opined that Team India’s biggest concern in recent times has been their bowling, but the focus has needlessly been cast on Rohit Sharma and his future. The Men in Blue suffered their third ODI series loss under Shubman Gill in the space of a year after their 27-run loss to England in the decider at Lord’s, on Sunday, July 19.
Featuring an unorthodox bowling combination following Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar’s injuries, Team India conceded 387 runs after being put to bowl first. The four-pronged pace attack could not make much impact, while Axar Patel also struggled to have a say as the sole spinner. Despite the vacancy in the playing XI that led to three changes, frontline wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav failed to make it to the side as he ends the tour without a single appearance.
The Indian bowling unit failed to dismiss England’s talisman Joe Root in any of the three ODIs, while Gurnoor Brar ended up with the third-most expensive bowling figures in Indian ODI history. Mohammad Kaif noted that these are real concerns plaguing Indian cricket, but the focus is needlessly on Rohit Sharma’s future.
“The real problem in the Indian team is the bowling. We have to aim for the eye of the fish, and instead we are aiming at Rohit Sharma’s form and all that nonsense. If we look at this tour, our bowling has been quite behind. So, we have to work a lot on our bowling. We are focused completely on the wrong thing, saying things about Rohit Sharma, this and that. But if we want to win the World Cup, do we have a bowling that can defend 250? When the batters fail, will the bowlers complement them?” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
“Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir, after this tour, should focus on the bowlers, the fielding, the injuries. All of these injuries are happening, who will take responsibility for that? So, apart from Rohit, there are so many major aspects which we should focus on and rectify them,” he added.
Team India have had a massive injury crisis to tackle in recent weeks, which played a part in the team balance and combination. All-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Hardik Pandya suffered injuries before the tour, and were soon ruled out.
The pair of Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy sustained hamstring injuries during the T20I series, while Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar also missed the third ODI due to injuries sustained in the loss in Cardiff recently.
“We didn’t bowl well, especially in the powerplay” – Team India captain Shubman Gill laments poor bowling display in ENG vs IND 2026 3rd ODI
Team India skipper Shubman Gill also highlighted Team India’s poor bowling effort, particularly towards the end, where they conceded 82 runs off the last five overs. Jos Buttler chipped in with a cameo of 41 runs off 13 deliveries to take the hosts closer to the 400-run mark.
“We gave too many runs in the last three overs. Gave around 60 runs, I think. That’s where the game went a little bit too far ahead from usI think in this match particularly, we didn’t bowl well, especially in the powerplay. I think we bowled too many off deliveries in the powerplay,” Gill said during the post-match presentation.
Team India walk away from the Ireland and England tour with just one win in 10 matches, which include three consecutive series defeats across two different formats.
Edited by Gokul Nair