BCCI did not show strictness on Team India’s defeat, debate broke out again on Gambhir’s strategy, Rajeev Shukla said – everything is fine

By Samira Vishwas On Jul 21, 2026

Rajeev Shukla On Team India Performance: Despite losing the ODI series against England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has defended the team. After the 27-run defeat in the third and deciding ODI played at Lord’s, Board Vice President Rajeev Shukla said that the team’s performance was as per expectations and there is no need to panic. However, continuous defeats have raised serious questions on Team India’s strategy, bowling and team selection.

Team India kept slipping continuously

India’s performance has continuously declined after winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. First of all, Ireland clean swept India 0-2 in the T20 series. After this, England also won both the T20 and ODI series. Consecutive defeats against two countries have raised questions on the preparations of Team India.

#WATCH | London, UK: On the India tour of England, 2026, 3rd ODI, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla says, ‘There is no doubt that today’s match was a hard-fought contest. They ended up scoring a lot of runs… Our batsmen—especially Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma—put up a… pic.twitter.com/oxaPyExIcY
— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2026

What did Rajiv Shukla say?

After the defeat, Rajiv Shukla supported the team and said that the match was extremely competitive and the 60 runs scored by England in the last three overs proved to be the turning point of the match.

He said, ‘Our batsmen performed brilliantly. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli showed that they still have a lot of cricket left in them. Shubman Gill also batted well. I think the team combination is good and everything is fine.’

Figures are raising concerns

BCCI’s statement may be positive, but the figures are pointing towards the deteriorating condition of the team. India has so far lost three ODI series under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. The defeat against Australia, the series loss to New Zealand at home and now the defeat at the hands of England has exposed India’s continuously declining form in ODI cricket.

Questions raised on leaving Kuldeep Yadav out

The team management is continuously coming up with additional batsmen and all-rounders, but this strategy did not yield the desired results. The biggest loss was suffered by Kuldeep Yadav, who was continuously kept out of the playing eleven. Despite his ability to take wickets in the middle overs, he was not given a chance in the name of team combination.

Even the strategy of eight batsmen did not work

India took the field with eight consecutive batsmen, but the batting also did not live up to expectations. In the second ODI, the entire team was limited to 233 runs, while in the third ODI, Indian batsmen could not win the match while chasing the target of 387 runs.

Bumrah’s lack was clearly visible

Important players like Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar continued to struggle with fitness problems, due to which the team management had to make repeated changes in the playing eleven. In the absence of Bumrah, Indian bowling looked completely ineffective.

In Lord’s ODI, England scored a huge score of 387 runs, which also became the highest score in ODI history on this historic ground. The Indian bowlers failed to put sustained pressure on the opposition batsmen or take wickets at regular intervals.

Also read:- Bangladesh on Australia tour after 23 years, host team will field under the captaincy of Pat Cummins; Strong squad announced

Pressure also increased on Gautam Gambhir

Constant defeats, questions regarding team selection and injuries to players have also increased the pressure on head coach Gautam Gambhir. The team management will soon have to rethink its strategy, because if this performance continues, it can have a direct impact on the preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup. At present BCCI may be saying everything is normal, but the challenges in front of Team India seem to be increasing continuously.