Inside India's injury crisis: How constant niggles and breakdowns are hampering 2027 ODI World Cup plans

NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill was out of character when he addressed the media after the defeat at Lord's in the third ODI. Generally calm, mostly balanced and always poised, the skipper seemed frustrated after losing his third ODI series since taking over from Rohit Sharma ahead of the tour of Australia.The frustration didn't stem from the cricket his side played 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 has taken place while trying out combinations, but India's injury crisis is a serious concern as they build up to next year's ODI World Cup.Ever since discussions for the multi-nation event got underway, the management has been keen to have enough seam-bowling options ready, but both their primary and backup options, Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy, are camped at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.While Reddy injured himself during the ODI series against Afghanistan last month, Pandya has yet to feature in an ODI for India since the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March 2025.

Even Harshit Rana, who is being groomed for the No. 8 role, has suffered two injury setbacks in the last six months.If you look at the first squad we had announced, from that, a minimum of five players did not play this matchThe spin-bowling department has had its share of woes as Washington Sundar has suffered a couple of breakdowns in the last six months: a side strain before the T20 World Cup and a hamstring injury this month.

Varun Chakravarthy, who was India's X-factor in the Champions Trophy triumph, suffered a hairline fracture before a Grade 2 hamstring injury ruled 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 ruled out before the Lord's decider.

This forced Gill to operate with a very inexperienced bowling attack featuring Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav. The skipper minced no words during the post-match press conference, highlighting how first-choice players remained unavailable throughout the series."If you look at the first squad we had announced, from that, a minimum of five players did not play this match," he said after the series loss at Lord's.

"If one player is injured, you look at playing another combination. If two players are injured, you look at playing another combination. But if after every match some player is missing, then somewhere we are missing a trick," he added.Mentioning the World Cup, where a team will play 11 matches in a row if they go all the way, the Indian captain emphasised how players have been unable to finish even short series."If you keep the World Cup as the goal, where we have to play 11 matches in a row, and here we have players not being able to finish a two or three-match series.

So there is some limitation where our players are not being able to play continuously. They play one or two matches, they suffer a niggle and then we are forced to play a different combination which we originally did not plan to play," said Gill.If you keep the World Cup as the goal, where we have to play 11 matches in a row, and here we have players not being able to finish a two or three-match series.The late niggles, sometimes as late as the morning of the match, have further complicated matters."So keeping all this in mind, it becomes a little difficult.

You come to the ground in the morning and come to know a player has a niggle. Then it's almost like, do you want to take a chance? Some player is 80% fit, you are playing with five bowlers and if this player comes off after bowling five overs, then who will bowl? This is difficult. So, as a group, we need to improve our fitness and all those things," said Gill.As of July 20, Pandya, Reddy, Chakravarthy and Rana are at the facility in Bengaluru, and Sundar is expected to join the quartet to begin his rehabilitation.

Except for Reddy, the other four were part of India's Champions Trophy-winning squad. Except for 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 two stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, recovered from their respective hamstring injuries.

For India to go all the way at next year's ODI World Cup, they will need these five at peak fitness and must also ensure the rest of the squad spends more time on the field than off it.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.