BCCI summons Gambhir & Agarkar to review India’s nightmare England-Ireland tours

India cricket team">India cricket team">India cricket team">India cricket team">India head coach Gautam Gambhir, chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar and Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman have been called by the BCCI at its Mumbai headquarters on Thursday for a review meeting. According to various media reports, the board will discuss India’s performances on the tours of Ireland and England, a spate of injuries to first-choice players and the roadmap for next year’s ODI World Cup.

Away Form In White-Ball Cricket

India toured Ireland and England for 10 white-ball matches comprising seven T20Is and three ODIs. Of these, they won just one – an ODI against England, while suffering a historic 2-0 T20I series whitewash in Ireland before crumbling to a 0-4 defeat to England.

The T20I defeats came months after India retained the World Cup title at home.

India though started their ODI leg of the tour on a positive note with a six-wicket win before suffering back-to-back losses for another series defeat. With the team now starting to gear up for the 2027 ODI World Cup, the board reportedly wants to take stock of the preparations.

Injury Management

The CoE has come under scrutiny with India players consistently dealing with fitness concerns that have often deprived the team of its first-choice players. Harshit Rana made a comeback after five months recovering from a knee injury during the England tour, only to be sidelined again by a fresh issue.

Hardik Pandya’s absence from competitive cricket since this year’s IPL remains a concern as he will be key to India’s plans for the ODI World Cup. He was expected to be picked for the upcoming Afghanistan T20Is but reportedly suffered a late niggle that has delayed his return.

As per a report, there seems to be a communication gap between CoE and the selection committee. As per latest, the panel, led by Agarkar, wasn’t aware of Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness for a tour.