Gautam Gambhir has been the best T20I coach for India. He’s yet to endure a loss in a T20I bilateral and won Asia Cup 2025 before lifting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. However, the same cannot be said about his ODI and Test credentials. In Tests, he has lost two home series, something that happened in 2012 previously. However, the Men in Blue haven’t been great in ODIs either despite winning the ODI Champions Trophy 2025.
Earlier in his tenure, India lost to Sri Lanka in 27 years. But from then, India looked in steady shape till the Champions Trophy, after which Rohit Sharma was dropped as captain and was replaced by Shubman Gill. Now, the Gill-Gambhir combo is yet to work in ODIs. In his first assignment, Gill lost to a tough Australian side Down Under. However, the biggest shock came when India lost a home three-match series to New Zealand earlier this year despite winning the series opener.
Gill eyes 1st ODI series win as captain
Shubman Gill is in the peak of his powers as far as his batting is concerned. His peak has coincided with him getting elevated as India’s captain. Gill had an outstanding English summer tour in Tests and since then he has smacked 1076 runs at an unbelievable average of 82.76, including six centuries in 15 Test innings.
As a captain in ODIs, he averages less than 30, however. But that won’t be a problem. From what we saw in the IPL 2026, Gill hasn’t lost his touch in white-ball cricket. He’s pretty much in form and is one of the best openers in ODIs currently. That would help his captaincy as well. As we mentioned before, Gill is yet to win an ODI bilateral series. But that is likely to change, as Afghanistan are not a world-beating unit. India should run them over despite not having Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya in the series.
Shubman Gill’s record as ODI captain
| Result | Margin | Opposition | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lost | 7 wickets | Australia | Perth | Oct 19, 2025 |
| Lost | 2 wickets | Australia | Adelaide | Oct 23, 2025 |
| Won | 9 wickets | Australia | Sydney | Oct 25, 2025 |
| Won | 4 wickets | New Zealand | Vadodara | Jan 11, 2026 |
| Lost | 7 wickets | New Zealand | Rajkot | Jan 14, 2026 |
| Lost | 41 runs | New Zealand | Indore | Jan 18, 2026 |
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s role under scanner
Hardik Pandya’s injury means India have to rely on Nitish Kumar Reddy for the role of a pace-bowling all-rounder. That’s a blessing in disguise. Had Pandya been available, Reddy might not have played.
Now, he is set to play in (possibly) across all the three ODIs. Superbly, he’s on an upward curve. In IPL 2026, Reddy was one of the best all-rounders. Without him, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost their balance. Not just the numbers, Reddy looked sharp and had an uptick in his pace too. After working behind the scenes with a bowling coach, Reddy bowled a bit quicker through the air, and he always find some swing if on offer.
| Season | Runs | Average | Highest Score | Wickets | Economy | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 139 | 34.75 | 55* | 6 | 5.67 | 2/65 |
Now, the crucial part is if Gill will use him wisely. These ODIs are meant to test the players, and Gill should bowl him more. Reddy should be given more bowling opportunities and act as a partnership breaker. With the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, India will definitely need to play both Pandya and NKR in the future. Hence, using NKR’s bowling should be necessary. Also, India would need to find a suitable batting slot for him, as his aggressiveness can be of huge importance.
What’s up with KL Rahul-Ishan Kishan?
Yashasvi Jaiswal was named as Virat Kohli’s replacement for the ODI series. However, Ishan Kishan was dubbed to play at the vacant number three spot since he has made the spot his own, at least in T20Is. The last time Kishan played a 50-over game for India was in 2023 ODI World Cup, and his rise recently has been heartening to watch.
However, on the eve of the 1st ODI in Dharamsala, there are reports coming that we might see Kishan play as a finisher and swap places with KL Rahul. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel remained mysterious about it as well. India might hand the gloves to Kishan, which would make sense from a testing perspective. But to make him a finisher and play KL Rahul at three would be an awful move.
Rahul, who has played at almost everywhere in his international career, needs no shuffling in this format. He dominated at number five when Rohit Sharma was the captain. Now, you’ve already pushed him at six, with a lefty coming ahead of him to break the right-hand pattern. But if India move him ahead in Kohli’s absence, it would be so uncalled for.
Highest average at No. 5 in ODIs (since 2023)
| Batter | Innings | Runs | HS | Average | SR | 100s/50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KL Rahul | 21 | 930 | 112* | 71.53 | 94.6 | 2/5 |
| Nicolas Pooran | 8 | 407 | 115 | 67.83 | 120.05 | 2/0 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 16 | 638 | 149* | 63.80 | 98 | 1/5 |
| Milind Kumar | 23 | 981 | 155* | 57.70 | 104.25 | 3/6 |
After all, he has bossed the No. 5/6 role. He can be a crisis man and can be a superb finisher. In the Champions Trophy 2025, he was dismissed just once in 4 matches. No one averages more than him at number five since he assumed the role in early 2023. Removing him from that position will create another problem that doesn’t exist.
Test pace department with no Bumrah, Siraj
For all the attention around Rohit Sharma’s return and the absence of Virat Kohli, the Afghanistan ODI series could end up being more important for India’s bowlers than its batters.
India already know what their batting core looks like for the 2027 World Cup. Rohit, Gill, Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal (backup opener), Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are all established names. The bigger question is whether India have enough quality pace options beyond Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
With Bumrah rested and Siraj left out for workload management, the spotlight will be on Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna. Both have shown promise but neither has cemented a spot in India’s ODI attack. The three matches against Afghanistan will be highly crucial. Both Arshdeep and Prasidh have just 38 ODI caps between them. Arshdeep had a mediocre IPL campaign, while Prasidh is yet to deliver for India in white-ball cricket.
Just as importantly, India have called up uncapped pacers Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar. While Brar appears to be further down the pecking order, Prince has built an impressive white-ball resume. He picked up 29 wickets in just 14 List A matches and followed it up with a strong IPL season for Lucknow Super Giants. If India decide to rotate their bowlers, he could get a long-awaited debut.
With the next World Cup set to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, India cannot rely solely on spin-heavy attacks. They need fast bowlers capable of creating magic.
