5 reasons behind India's ODI series loss to England

ENG vs IND 2026 ODI Series: India’s dismal tour of the United Kingdom ended on Sunday with just one win from ten games. The ODI assignment began with a six-wicket win at Edgbaston before the hosts leveled the series in Cardiff. On Sunday, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, and Sam Curran came to the fore and delivered a 27-run win for England and helped their side win the series. 

Shubman Gill’s ODI captaincy career has raised questions after losing yet another big series. Since being named the skipper, he has already lost away to Australia and at home to New Zealand.

The only positive from the ODI series was Virat Kohli’s form and Rohit Sharma’s resurgence. Kohli scored 144 runs from three games with two successive fifties. Rohit, who was speculated to be retiring from the ODI format, brushed aside those talks with a brilliant 138 on Sunday. 

Here are the five reasons behind India’s ODI series loss to England 

Lack of experience in the bowling attack

Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and Prince Yadav have played a total of 46 ODI games. Injury to Bumrah ahead of the third game meant that the visiting side lost one of their most potent weapons, who could have swung the match in their favor. Mohammed Siraj being rested for the tour was a huge mistake, and it came back to haunt the decision-makers. None of the pacers performed, and runs were conceded in the final ten overs, during which England scored 126 runs. 

Middle-order fails to perform 

India’s batting in the ODI format has always been strong because of a formidable middle-order. In the ENG vs IND ODI series, Shreyas Iyer did reasonably well, scoring 101 runs from three games. He did score a duck on Sunday, but he had no other choice but to play big shots right from the word go. Ishan Kishan scored 15 runs from two games, while KL Rahul also managed to conjure up just 13 runs. In the second ODI at Cardiff, the middle-order exploded with the Men in Blue losing five wickets for 82 runs to hand England the advantage. If the team hopes to win the World Cup, the middle order must be strengthened. 

Injury crises

Washington Sundar, Bumrah, and Gill faced fitness issues during the series. Considering the amount of cricket the Indian team plays, it is up to the management to sort out the mess. India’s skipper, speaking after the ODI series on Sunday, said that from the original squad that was picked, five players didn’t feature at Lord’s. He then added that when a player gets injured, different combinations have to be played, which is a concern. Shubman also added that India played 11 matches in the World Cup, but players were not able to compete in 2-3 games in a bilateral series.

The captaincy question 

It is certain that Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, in particular, would have seen how leadership has been exercised in the ODI format. One cannot blame the Gujarat Titans star for the injuries and the lack of player availability, but some of his decisions are certainly his fault. There was a lack of planning during the chase on Sunday. Even the bowling changes seemed reactive as the English batters continued to wreak havoc. 

No Kuldeep Yadav

Interestingly, a player with over 100 ODI games and 194 wickets in the format cannot make it into the playing XI. Kuldeep Yadav has been one of the most underutilized players in the setup since his international debut in 2017. Yadav could have replaced Bumrah in the XI, but the management went in with Prince instead. Axar Patel is not a frontline spinner who can put pressure on batters and claim wickets, and that role belongs to the left-arm wrist spinner. Sadly, the management saw more benefit in Yadav warming the bench than being out on the field.