BCCI to review India’s T20 team after England and Ireland defeats

India’s T20 cricket team has hit a rough patch. On Friday, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia offered his take: “This is not something abnormal and can happen in international cricket. We consider it as a purely bad phase.” The board will conduct a full review of the squad once the England tour wraps up on July 19.

The scale of the problem is hard to ignore. Thursday’s loss to England—by nine wickets—marked the fourth straight defeat. Five losses in a row now. England has already secured an unbeatable 3-0 series lead with one match still to play. Before this, India were whitewashed 2-0 by Ireland just last month.

The losses have been lopsided. Nottingham saw India collapse to 76—their worst T20 defeat, losing by 125 runs. In Bristol, India posted 158-7, but England chased it down with nine wickets in hand and six overs remaining. It’s a far cry from March, when India won the T20 World Cup.

Gautam Gambhir’s team has been stretched thin. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have sat out due to workload and injury management. The squad has also turned to youth: 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his debut, scoring 14, 13 and 15 across his first three innings,.

India face England again on Saturday in Southampton for the fifth T20. A three-match ODI series follows the T20s. Both tournaments now feel like damage control.