Inside India’s injury crisis: How constant niggles and breakdowns have hampered 2027 ODI World Cup plans | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill was out of character when he addressed the media after the loss at Lord’s in the third ODI. Usually calm, usually poised and always poised, the captain looked frustrated after losing his third ODI series since replacing Rohit Sharma ahead of the Australia tour.The disappointment did not stem from the cricket played by his side in the England series and the preceding fixtures, but from the constant bouts of niggles, breakdowns and injuries that hampered preparations and never allowed India to field their strongest Playing XI.A fair amount of experimentation and movement in the batting order took place while testing combinations, but India’s injury crisis is a serious concern as they build up to next year’s ODI World Cup.
Ever since discussions began for the multi-nation event, the management wanted to have enough seam-bowling options ready, but their main and backup options, Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy, are camped at the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.While Reddy injured himself during the ODI series against Afghanistan last month, Pandya has not featured in an ODI for India since the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March 2025. Even Harshit Rana, who was drafted in for the No.
If you look at the first squad that we announced, from that, at least five players did not play in this match
Shubman Gill
The spin-bowling department has had its share of misfortune as Washington Sundar has suffered a few setbacks in the past six months: a side strain ahead of the T20 World Cup and a hamstring injury this month. Varun Chakravarthy, who was India’s X-factor in the Champions Trophy win, suffered a hairline fracture before a Grade 2 hamstring injury kept him out of action.To make matters worse, India’s star bowler Jasprit Bumrah played only two ODIs in the series against England and was dropped before Lord’s decision. This forced Gill to operate with an inexperienced bowling attack featuring Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav. The captain did not say a word during the post-match press conference, highlighting how the first-choice players remained unused throughout the series.
“If you look at the first squad we announced, out of that, at least five players missed this match,” he said after the series defeat at Lord’s. “If one player is injured, you look at playing a different combination. If two players are injured, you look at playing a different combination.Referring to the World Cup, where a team plays 11 matches in a row if they continue, the Indian captain highlighted how the players did not finish even in the short series.“If you keep the World Cup as a goal, where we have to play 11 games in a row, and here we have players who cannot finish a two or three game series. So there are some limitations where our players cannot play continuously. They play one or two games, they suffer a niggle and then we are forced to play another combination that we initially said we did not plan to play Gill.
If you keep the World Cup as a goal, where we have to play 11 games in a row, and here we have players who cannot finish a two or three game series.
Shubman Gill
Late niggles, sometimes as late as the morning of the game, further complicate matters.“So remembering all this, it can be a bit difficult. You go to the ground in the morning and find out that a player has a niggle. Then it’s almost like, do you want to take a chance? The other player is 80% fit, you play with five bowlers and if this player goes out after bowling five overs, then who will bowl? It’s difficult. So, as a group, we have to improve everything things.As of July 20, Pandya, Reddy, Chakravarthy and Rana are at the Bengaluru facility, and Sundar is expected to join the quartet to begin his rehabilitation. Apart from Reddy, the other four were part of India’s Champions Trophy-winning squad. Apart from Rana, who was injured during the warm-up, the other four were also part of the group that won the 2026 T20 World Cup title. Even the two stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have recovered from their respective hamstring injuries. For India to progress to next year’s ODI World Cup, they need these five in peak fitness and also need to ensure that the rest of the squad spends more time on the field than off it.
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