3 biggest reasons why India lost England series

India, ranked number one in the ICC ODI Rankings, suffered a disappointing 2-1 series defeat to England. Going 1-1 into the decider, the two-time World Cup-winning side suffered a 27-run defeat after the hosts scored 387 runs in the first innings. 

This ends a terrible tour of the British Isles, where they lost the T20I series to both Ireland and England, without a win to their name. The Men in Blue have a lot to ponder in the 50-over format with the 2027 Cricket World Cup just a year away.

Here are 3 big reasons why India suffered series defeat to England: 

3. Inexperienced bowling line-up 

India came

into the ODI series against England with a relatively inexperienced bowling unit. Apart from the returning Jasprit Bumrah, who himself last played an ODI in November 2023, the next most-capped pacer was Prasidh Krishna, having played 28 times in the format. Even Arshdeep Singh, someone with 91 T20Is under his belt, has played just 18 ODIs in his international career.

Shubman Gill's side were forced to rely on Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav, who had played just five ODI matches between them in their relatively fresh careers. The management decided to give rest to Mohammed Siraj amid workload management and did not pick the likes of Mohammed Shami or a resurgent Bhuvneshwar Kumar. On top of that, Harshit Rana was withdrawn from the side after injuring himself in the T20I series.

2. Lack of consistency in batting order

During India's best times in ODI cricket, they always had a settled batting order with players having designated positions. However, there was a little experimentation in the lineup, with Ishan Kishan coming in the playing XI for the second ODI. Before his arrival, number four had been Shreyas Iyer's position for more than three years, but he was forced to drop down to five. 

Iyer, however, did score 66 in Cardiff, but Kishan struggled at number four, scoring just 15 runs from two matches. To top it off, the left-handed batter was played as a wicketkeeper ahead of KL Rahul, who has kept wickets in the format since 2023. The visitor's top five have been constant for a long time, something that was not followed in this series.

1. Overreliance on Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah returned to India's ODI setup for the first time since playing in the 2023 World Cup final and immediately hit the ground running. Despite taking just two wickets all series, the right-arm pacer troubled English batters and put the brakes on scoring. 

However, his injury concerns returned for the third ODI, making him unavailable for selection. In his absence, the rest of the bowlers struggled to curtail the run-scoring. India conceded 387 runs in the game at Lord's, with Gurnoor Brar conceding 97 runs from his 10 overs. 

Bumrah is always on the verge of an injury, so other Indian bowlers will need to step up in his absence from time to time.