Former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane criticized Shubman Gill’s captaincy in the third ODI against New Zealand at Indore, saying the young captain “missed a trick” by underutilizing spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja during the middle overs . New Zealand posted a massive 338 runs thanks to centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips, who put on a 219-run partnership that lasted nearly 30 overs . Rahane pointed out that Kuldeep bowled only three overs in the middle phase and Jadeja was not introduced until the 30th over, while all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled eight overs without taking a wicket .

Rahane’s blunt assessment of Gill’s bowling strategy

Speaking on Cricbuzz at the mid-innings break, Rahane did not hold back in his assessment of Gill’s captaincy decisions . “Personally, I think Shubman missed a trick by bowling only three overs of Kuldeep in the middle overs, and then he was waiting till the 37th-38th over. Even Jadeja being held back till the 30th over, those are the guys who can get you the wickets. That is where India went slightly wrong,” Rahane said .

The criticism highlighted a key tactical error—despite taking two early wickets in the first two overs, India failed to capitalize on the momentum by bringing on their wicket-taking spinners when Mitchell and Phillips were building their partnership . Instead, Gill opted to give Nitish Kumar Reddy extended bowling time in the middle overs, possibly to give the young all-rounder match experience, but that decision allowed the New Zealand batters to settle and dominate.

Zaheer Khan agrees, singles out Jadeja’s delayed entry

Legendary India pacer Zaheer Khan expanded on Rahane’s criticism, stating that Ravindra Jadeja’s delayed introduction into the attack was particularly problematic . “More than Kuldeep, it is Ravindra Jadeja’s inclusion in the bowling attack very late that was the problem. Maybe the thought was to give Nitish Reddy a bit more game time and overs under his belt in a match situation, but because of that, you get a bit hamstrung with your options,” Zaheer added .

Both Kuldeep and Jadeja finished with economy rates exceeding a run per ball, but by the time they were brought on around the 40th over, Mitchell and Phillips had already built a strong platform and were accelerating towards their centuries . The spinners faced the full wrath of the two batters in the death overs when they should have been attacking during the middle phase when the partnership was still building.

Mitchell’s dominance against India continues

Daryl Mitchell completed his fourth century in his last seven ODIs against India, finishing with a brilliant 137 . His partnership with Glenn Phillips completely changed the match after New Zealand had slumped to 58 for three early on. The 219-run stand exposed India’s inability to break partnerships once set batters get going, a recurring issue in limited-overs cricket.

Gill’s captaincy under the microscope

While Gill is still a young captain learning his trade, the criticism from experienced voices like Rahane and Zaheer Khan will add pressure on him to improve his tactical decisions in crunch situations. The decision to hold back proven wicket-takers in favor of giving a part-timer more overs is a lesson that could cost India in future matches. With India chasing 339 to win the series, Gill will also need to deliver with the bat to silence critics and prove his leadership credentials.