India’s One-Day International (ODI) series defeat at the hands of New Zealand has laid bare several deep flaws in the Indian team. It was not just about mistakes in the last match (which decided the issue), but certain aspects of India’s overall game across the three-match series that resulted in Shubman Gill’s team losing by 2-1 to New Zealand. For the visitors, it was a historic first-ever win.
However, before getting into the details of the loss, it’s necessary to point out one important aspect of cricket in India that none of the pundits have mentioned. That has to do with the packed schedule of matches nowadays. The competitions are so closely bunched together that there’s no time for reflection, introspection and course correction. No time to notice which player is blossoming and which one is withering. Conducting match after match without giving an adequate break will eventually hurt India very deeply.
Now the T20 World Cup is coming up, followed by the Indian Premier League (IPL). Very soon, all faults will be brushed under the carpet and forgotten.
Coming to the series against New Zealand, one of the important mistakes that India made was in team selection. Arshdeep Singh was kept on the bench for the first two of the three ODI matches, and that was mistake number one. Later, he came in place of Prasidh Krishna and delivered results instantly. His omission from the playing XI may have been prompted by workload management. But making him play all matches against New Zealand might have given India a different result.
Mohammed Siraj took two wickets in the first match, none in the second and one in the third to end up with three wickets in three matches. Not what one would expect from a bowler of his class. Which brings up the Shami question yet again. Why is the fast bowler consistently being ignored? The matter has been discussed many times in these columns. The feeling persists that if Shami had been there, the bowling would have been stronger.
Harshit Rana looked threatening with the new ball. He dismissed Devon Conway in all three matches, but when the ball got older, he, along with the others, looked toothless. New Zealand enjoyed big partnerships in the middle overs, which derailed India’s momentum. Our spin bowling was unfruitful and it added to the difficulties.
The most glaring failure was Ravindra Jadeja’s poor bowling performance. In three matches, he failed to take a single wicket and gave away 141 runs. Former Indian stars Zaheer Khan and Ajinkya Rahane believe that Jadeja needs to change his predictable game to stay effective in modern ODI cricket. His spin partner, Kuldeep Yadav, was ineffective too, with only three wickets in three matches.
Cricket is evolving every year. The changes are gradual but it has to be understood and countered or India will slide downwards. The former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan said: “Nowadays, you can’t just be merely a containing bowler in the middle overs. Everyone sees that phase as an opportunity to change momentum. So, you must also be aggressive and take wickets. Jadeja must introduce variations in his pace and his angles of attack.”
In the batting line up, several key players failed to live up to expectations. Rohit Sharma was clearly out of form. The top order is a key asset for any team, especially when it comes to chasing big targets. India had to chase down huge totals of 301 and 338 in this series. Opener Rohit Sharma, scored 26, 24 and 11 runs in these matches. And he was not the only big name who failed.
Only Virat Kohli, who has been India’s best batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, continued to anchor India’s batting. But India cannot depend on Virat alone. The main problem for India throughout the series were the poor starts resulting from Rohit’s bad form. That was why India was not able to chase big scores that New Zealand put up.
Shubman Gill’s captaincy and his field placings also came under fire. Shockingly, Indian cricket is seeing a decline of its two brightest young stars. When Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav ruled the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings in ODIs and T20Is, they were match-winners.
But when coach Gautam Gambhir took over, he ensured that the captaincy went from established seniors like Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, to Gill and Surya Kumar Yadav. Was that decision a mistake? Both players look like shadows of their former selves. Their game has suffered due to the burden of captaincy. The Control for Cricket India (BCCI) must examine this issue thoroughly.
Finally, a word about India’s fielding. Dropped catches and missed run-out chances meant New Zealand were rarely forced to rebuild. It was a recurring issue that tilted momentum in favour of the visitors.
Shubman Gill admitted that the fielding in this series was not up to the mark. He singled out fielding as one of the most disappointing aspects of India’s performance. Bad fielding has been a traditional drawback in Indian cricket and it is time for the players, coach and the BCCI to take a deep look at this lingering ailment and uproot it from the soil of Indian cricket.
This post was last modified on January 20, 2026 9:22 pm