He ‘struggled’: Former India cricketer criticized captain Shubman Gill against England

Shubman Gill and Gurnoor Brar during the 3rd ODI against England, at Lord’s, London on Sunday. (NOT a photo) Former India batsman Hanuma Vihari has questioned the captaincy of Shubman Gill following India’s 27-run defeat by England in the third ODI at Lord’s, criticizing the team’s decision to field only five bowling options in the deciding series.India suffered a heartbreaking defeat as England posted a record 387/3, the highest ODI total at Lord’s, before the visitors fell behind despite Rohit Sharma’s brilliant century. With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out with a knee injury, India went into the match with four specialist pacers and Axar Patel as the lone spinner, leaving Gill with no option to bowl six. An inexperienced attack struggled to contain England’s batting, with Ben Duckett’s 141 and Jacob Bethell’s 91 propelling the hosts to a daunting total.

Hanuma Vihari questions Gill’s bowling leadership

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Vihari felt that Gill is struggling to rotate the bowlers due to the lack of another bowling option.“He only had five bowlers in the last ODI, he (Gill) struggled with the bowling changes. When everyone was getting hit, not having the sixth option became a concern for him. You should also know how to handle things when that option is not there. Whether it’s the fielding or the bowling changes, I feel he has to improve. He has a lot to improve because the captaincy has a lot to improve. But his batting is better, the captaincy is excellent, the captain said to Vihari.

Vihari is puzzled by Kuldeep Yadav’s omission

Vihari also questioned the decision to leave out player Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI, saying India should favor experienced match-winners in the build-up to the ODI World Cup.“Why was Kuldeep left out? It’s something I can’t understand. Going with youth in T20s is still fine, but in ODIs you have to go with experience. When you see the IPL, you feel there are many new players but match winners are very few and you have to pick those match winners. If your aim is to win the World Cup, win the experienced players and those who know how to win,” concluded Vihari.It was India’s first ODI series loss against England since 2018.