Gill criticises India’s fielding after five-wicket defeat in New Chandigarh

Shubman Gill said India’s fielding “has not been up to the mark” after his side’s five-wicket loss to West Indies in the third and final ODI in New Chandigarh on Saturday, while India still celebrated a home ODI series triumph.

Gill posed with the winner’s trophy after the match (photo credit: Sajjad Hussain) but singled out fielding as the primary area requiring improvement following the three outings against West Indies. “I think we dropped around three or four catches today (Saturday). Dropping catches breaks the momentum,” he said.

The captain quantified the problem across the series, adding: “Our fielding in the series, I would say, has not been up to the mark. I think we dropped around seven catches in the whole series, if I’m not wrong.”

Gill also criticised the team’s ground fielding and described its impact on the bowling unit, saying: “Even in the field today, we gave away many runs. We were quite sloppy. I think leading up to the World Cup, these are the areas where we definitely need to get better. We need to be at our best, especially on the field. If the wicket isn’t helping the bowlers and our fielding is substandard, it becomes difficult for them,” he pointed out.

On selection and the search for an all-round option, Gill identified specific players under consideration, stating: “Anshul (Kamboj) and Auqib (Nabi) are the kind of players who are going to be in the mix a lot. We want someone who can bowl and can bat a bit at No. 8. That number is very crucial for us.”

Addressing the window for experimentation, Gill said there was limited time to try combinations before a major tournament and flagged availability as a constraint. “But I honestly don’t think there is that much time to experiment. Hopefully we get all the players that are available from the next series, and we want to start playing with the combination that we want for the World Cup.”