BCCI Reacts As Shubman Gill, Gautam Gambhir Lead India To Another ODI Series Loss

BCCI reacts after India's embarrassing loss vs England [Source: AFP]

India lost the T20I series against Ireland and England, but it was expected that the team would defeat the hosts in their favourite format, the ODIs. The Men in Blue won the first game of the series, but England roared back to win the next two matches as they sealed the series and took India to the cleaners.

The visitors needed a tricky 388 runs to win the third ODI and the series, and despite Rohit Sharma’s scintillating maiden ODI ton at Lord’s, the team crumbled, and India lost the match.

Reportedly, the BCCI will have a performance review meeting, but before that, the BCCI Vice-President, Rajiv Shukla, released his statement on the team’s shambolic performance, as Gautam Gambhir, and Shubman Gill have led India to another series loss.

Rajiv Shukla backs Team India despite series loss vs England

Rajiv Shukla hailed the performance of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as the two senior pros delivered the goods and were the lone warriors for their side in a tricky run-chase.

"Today's match was certainly a hard-fought one, there's no doubt about that. They ended up scoring too many runs, they made 60 runs in the last three overs, and that was a bit of a shortcoming. 

Otherwise, our batsmen also put up a fantastic performance, especially our veteran icons, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. They proved once again that they are strong batsmen and still have the power in them," he told ANI.

Shukla revealed why Team India lost the third ODI against England, and at the same time, he backed the team by stating that the team combination is perfectly fine.

In my opinion, the biggest highlights today were the batting of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, followed by Shubman Gill. So, I feel the team combination is good and everything is fine. However, they just scored more runs, which is why we had to face this struggle," he said.

Third ODI series loss under Gambhir-Gill ODI duo

Gill was appointed as the ODI captain last year, and it won’t be an understatement to say that the captain-coach duo of Gill and Gambhir have failed to deliver the goods as India have lost yet another series.

Also Read: First Ireland, Then England: UK Tour Leaves India With More Questions Than Answers

The disappointing journey started with the away series loss against Australia last October. It was followed by a close-fought home series win against South Africa before a depleted New Zealand side humbled Team India at home.

Interestingly, in the South African home series, Gill was ruled out and KL Rahul led the Indian charge.

Last month, India defeated the touring Afghanistan team in a 3-match ODI series, but the Men in Blue eventually got a reality check as England thrashed the Shubman Gill-led side to win the ODIs. Out of the four ODI series where Gill has led the Indian team, the Asian giants have only won one of those.

England seal ODI series despite Rohit, Kohli's brilliance

England batted first after winning the toss, and it was a Ben Duckett show as the southpaw smashed the highest individual score in an ODI game at Lord’s to push India on the back foot.

He forged a crucial opening stand with Jacob Bethell, and once Duckett departed, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler gave finishing touches to help England post 387.

In reply, Rohit Sharma scored a stellar century, and Virat Kohli breached the 50-run mark, but that was not enough as Team India scored 360/7, thus losing the game by 27 runs.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma's Argument At Lord's Creates New Headache For BCCI