IND vs NZ 2026: ‘Our fielding was not up to the mark’ – Shubman Gill reflects on dropped chances in ODI series

Shubman Gill, India’s ODI captain, said that the Men in Blue struggled in the field during the home ODI series against New Zealand. He emphasised the need for major progress in this area as India began to plan for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

New Zealand defeated India by 41 runs in the third and final ODI on Sunday, January 18 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. The victory allowed the Black Caps make history by winning their first bilateral ODI series on Indian soil. Batting first, New Zealand scored a dominant 337/8 before limiting India to 296 in the chase.

Shubman Gill recognised that New Zealand dominated India in all three aspects of the game.

While reflecting on India’s series loss, he singled out fielding as one of the most disappointing aspects of their performance, admitting that mistakes in the field proved costly and played a significant role in the defeat.

“Our fielding in this series was not up to the mark. We dropped some catches at some crucial turn of events in the game. It’s not easy on wickets like these. Bowlers try to create chances and no one drops a catch intentionally, but that’s the one aspect that we really have to get better at,” said Gill in the presentation.