India lost an ODI series at home against New Zealand for the first time, and the captaincy decisions made by Shubman Gill haven't been the best.
New Zealand cricket conquered a new high on Sunday after registering a 41-run victory against India in the third ODI in Indore. On the other hand, it seemed as if India’s red-ball issues are slowly starting to creep in towards the white-ball format, as the Shubman Gill-led side lost an ODI series at home.
The young Indian skipper has been at the epicentre of a lot of criticism going around for his bowling changes in the ODI series. And the majority of the criticism has been around the usage of Kuldeep Yadav. The Indian leg-spinner was taken to the cleaners in the second ODI by Daryl Mitchell.
Kuldeep went for 82 runs in the second ODI, and could manage a solitary wicket. After the completion of the game, Mitchell and Will Young spoke about their conversation intending to target Kuldeep in order to score some quick runs. However, former India star Ravichandran Ashwin feels that it might have impacted Shubman Gill with his ability to trust the chinaman in the third ODI.
Ashwin spoke about the ability to rotate bowlers well and bring the right resource into the attack at the right time. That being said, the choices made by Shubman Gill were not really up to the mark in the final ODI, as Kuldeep Yadav ended up bowling just six overs.
“If you lose the opportunity to bowl the right bowlers at the right time, then even good bowlers will look ordinary,” said Ravichandran Ashwin on his podcast on YouTube.
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According to the former Indian off-spinner, Shubman Gill missed a trick by not rotating his bowlers well in the last ODI in Indore. He expressed that after Mitchell’s onslaught in the second ODI, it was understandable that Gill did not want to expose him against the Kiwi No.4.
However, in the same situation, he could have brought on Ravindra Jadeja a lot earlier, making life difficult for the visitors. Jadeja was introduced into the attack in the 30th over in Indore, which was well after both Mitchell and Glenn Phillips were well set.
Though Kuldeep was introduced in the 17th over in Indore, the Indian skipper did not show signs of trust upon the chinaman, which allowed the Kiwi batters to settle in on a wicket which was anyways aiding the batters more than the bowlers.
Ashwin raised a point to voice that Phillips does not read the ball coming out of the hands of the spinner. Hence, it was important to unleash maximum spin while he was at the crease. However, Shubman Gill persisted with pace, which made life difficult for the Indians.
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