‘No time to experiment’: Captain Shubman Gill wants all resources available to prepare for India’s ODI World Cup

India’s Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill (ANI Photo) New Chandigarh: When one takes a quick look at India’s ODI resources for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, the cupboard looks bare and fragile. There is only Jasprit Bumrah who really commands a place in the XI. The rest are either on probation or nursing injuries. Mohammed Siraj dramatically came to a boil and lost the confidence of the team management. Another “experienced” paceman in the ranks, Prasidh Krishna, was still in the process of establishing his credentials before collapsing in the second ODI. TOI understands that the team management has identified Gurnoor Brar as a strong prospect in South African conditions.It’s been a rough initiation into ODI captaincy for Shubman Gill. It’s been a year since he took on the role, but he still doesn’t have all of his first-choice resources at his disposal. “It was unlucky with the injuries and the schedule. We weren’t able to field the bowling line-up we wanted. It’s a great chance for them to showcase their skills,” Gill said after Saturday’s series win over the West Indies.However, the anxiety was obvious. He declared the need to urgently resolve the ODI core. With Bumrah playing in the Asian Games, this series was supposed to test the second string of pacers. But Gill doesn’t seem to be in the mood to be in the experimental phase. “Honestly, I don’t think there’s much time to experiment. The combination we want to play, hopefully we get all the players available from the next series. The combination we want to play in the World Cup, we want to start playing with that combination,” he said.Here’s the catch. The next series is a five-ODI affair in New Zealand, followed by a two-Test series. Uncertainly placed in the Test World Championship table, the team management intends to pull out the Test stalwarts after the third ODI. This would mean that Bumrah, Krishna and Siraj will not be available for the entire series. There is a good chance that Brar could be pulled as well.Pace bowling has been India’s biggest asset in the last two World Cups. Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Siraj were incisive with the new ball and powerful in the death overs. Gill clearly sees a gap in his bowling attack.“Bowling in the powerplay and at the death hurt us. If you don’t start the powerplay well, it’s not easy to take wickets in the middle overs. It’s not easy to create chances with only four players in the field outside the ring. The intensity of the game is completely different when you don’t take wickets either in the powerplay or in the middle overs. That’s why we lost two series today. wickets in the powerplay but still managed to get 350 on the board,” Gill expressed his concerns.

Kamboj, Nabi to audition for seat #8

It’s not just about new-ball pitchers. Gill also revealed that the team management is looking for a pacer who can be a capable batsman at No. 8. Repeated injuries to Harshit Rana have compounded Gill’s problems. That is why Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj got debuts in this series.“Anshul and Auqib will be very much in the mix. Anshul is someone who can also bat at No.8. And that number is very crucial for us. We don’t know who will be fit for the World Cup. And if we want someone who can mix and bat a bit at No.8, Anshul can do that. And even G, who can bat under pressure, we want to see players and do that.”Both Kamboj and Nabi endured rough debuts, conceding more than nine runs per over. However, this is the only place Gill may be willing to bide his time.“They would have liked to have done a much better job. But you know, a little hard on them. It’s not easy to come in and be able to deliver right away. I hope they learn from their mistakes and the opportunities they get,” Gill said.

Fielding woes

Gill also made his displeasure with the team’s standards clear. The Indian team’s standing has deteriorated over the past eight months.“We dropped about three or four catches today. I don’t think Shai was left out, but even so, three or four catches breaks the momentum of the team. Our fielding in the series, I would say, was not up to par. I think we dropped about seven catches in the whole series, if I’m not mistaken. And we gave it away in the field today, we were sloppy in the field a lot of times,” he said.“I think ahead of the World Cup, those are the areas where we definitely need to improve. We need to be at our best, especially when we’re in the field. It’s not easy for the bowlers, so the fielders can help a lot. And if the wicket doesn’t help the bowlers much and the fielding is substandard, it’s a difficult job for the bowlers,” he added.