'We were unfortunate not to have Bumrah on the last day'

India suffered a 1-3 defeat in the five-match series in Australia last month, ending their decade-long dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Shubman Gill reckons one series loss doesn't define the Indian team

IMAGE: Shubman Gill reckons one series loss doesn't define the Indian team. Photograph: ICC/X

India's vice-captain Shubman Gill on Tuesday defended their performance in the Test series 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 last month, ending their decade-long dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Players from that series -- 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."

Before the reverse in Australia, India were also whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand at home, unprecedented in the country's cricket history.

For the ODIs against England, starting on Thursday, Feb 6, 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," he added.