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The one that got away

The one that got away
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nagpur: India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill on Tuesday defended their recent performance in Australia, saying that one poor series does not define a team and that it is unfair to criticise a side after a rare bad outing.

India suffered a 1-3 defeat in the five-match series in Australia, bringing to an end their decade-long dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Key players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Gill himself are now set to return for the three-match ODI series against England before heading to Dubai for the all-important ICC Champions Trophy.

“One series does not define the form of the whole team. There are a lot of players who, in the past, have performed consistently in a lot of series and tournaments,” Gill said ahead of the first ODI against England. “Definitely, we did not play as per our expectations in the Australian series, but still we played some good cricket. We were unfortunate not to have (Jasprit) Bumrah on the last day and we would have won the match and the series would have been a draw and this talk wouldn’t have happened. One match and one day doesn’t define us, we won there twice before and earlier won a World Cup and then reached the final of a World Cup, so we should keep all those things in mind,” he said.

The spotlight is firmly on senior players Rohit and Kohli, who have struggled with the bat in recent times.

“The way Rohit bhai has been batting in the ODIs in the past one year-and-a-half, it’s been really game-changing for us. Taking the momentum right through from the start and taking the game away form ball one and it makes the job of the non-striker and the batsmen coming in a bit easier and I think it has helped our team a lot,” he said.

Varun in ODI squad

In-form mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was included in the Indian ODI squad after his heroics in the just-concluded T20I series as the team management wants him to “keep up the momentum”. It is understood that head coach Gautam Gambhir wants Chakravarthy to remain in rhythm and bowl to the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant. With the deadline for squad changes set for February 12, he remains a strong candidate.

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