One series does not define form of whole team: Gill

Nagpur, PTI: India's vice-captain Shubman Gill on Tuesday defended their performance in the Test rubber loss 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 told reporters here 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."

Rohit's batting in ODIs a game changing: The spotlight is firmly on senior players Rohit and Kohli, who have struggled with the bat in recent times. However, Gill was quick to highlight the skipper's sensational form in white-ball cricket, which played a pivotal role in India reaching the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Even in the Sri Lanka series, Rohit scored two half centuries.

"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."

Chopping and changing creates insecurity: Karun Nair produced a solid performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, averaging 389.50 in the tournament, but was overlooked for the Champions Trophy. However, Gill stressed the importance of continuity to ensure a secure team environment rather than making frequent changes based on domestic performances.

"Karun had a great Vijay Hazare Trophy, but that doesn't mean the current players should be dropped. They have also performed well to reach this stage. With Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek churning out top performances, Gill is in a scramble for a spot at the top of the order, but the 25-year-old asserted that there is no "toxic competition" between the three.

England are a good side, this series is important: The three ODIs against England are the last bit of preparation the Indian team gets before the Champions Trophy, starting February 19. The 0-2 series loss to Sri Lanka in August was the last time India played ODIs last year.

"We are playing against a good side and three ODIs and we are not taking this as a practice for Champions Trophy as it is a very important series for us and we are looking to dominate and win this series.