Gill: Fielding and death overs bowling need improvement before the World Cup

Indian one-day and Test captain Shubman Gill has stated that despite winning the one-day series against the West Indies, the team needs to improve in fielding and death overs bowling before the upcoming World Cup.

Following the loss to the West Indies in the third one-day match, Gill said that the team's strategy often lacks clarity regarding whether to adopt an aggressive approach or a defensive strategy. This issue is particularly evident during death overs bowling. He noted that in one-day cricket, when five or six wickets have already fallen for the opposing team, setting the correct field placement is not easy, and the team often faces indecision over whether to implement the death overs strategy or continue attacking as in the middle overs. The team must definitely improve in these areas.

India participated in this series without Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. India has very few one-day matches to play before the 2027 World Cup, a point also highlighted by head coach Gautam Gambhir. The team selection indicates that India is focusing on trying out new alternative players in addition to just winning matches. Mohammed Siraj played only one of the three matches in the series and did not bowl in the death overs in that match either. Anshul Kamboj, who made his debut in New Chandigarh, Gurunoor Brar, and off-spinner Naman Dhir also bowled in the last 10 overs, while Aaqib Nabi, who made his debut in Guwahati, also played a role in stopping the West Indies in the final overs of the innings.

The bowlers from both teams were heavily punished as conditions were not in their favor, however, the experience gained during this period will benefit India in the World Cup taking place next year. This has given backup players an idea of the standard of performance they need to deliver, while key players are preparing for their return. On Saturday, India chose to bat first and lost two wickets for four runs, yet the team still scored 351 runs.

Reviewing the team's performance across the three matches, Gill said he was largely satisfied overall, but some areas still require improvement. He said, "I feel our fielding could be better. We dropped six or seven catches in the entire series, which is not a good sign before the World Cup. You want your fielding to be of the highest quality."

Gill said he was pleased with the runs on the scoreboard, but acknowledged that the West Indies made a comeback in the match. India was penalized for a slow over rate after the 46th over, which forced them to keep only four fielders outside the boundary in the final few balls instead of the usual five.

He added, "I felt the match was under our control. We were four overs behind, and at the end, they snatched the match from us. If we had not been behind in the overs, perhaps the match would have gone to the final over. Whenever you get out early, it is disappointing, but today I do not feel I could have done anything different with that ball."