Captain Eoin Morgan admitted Stuart Broad could play a role in the Champions Trophy after another bruising outing for England's one-day bowlers in India.

The tourists have played a full part in two thrilling matches in Pune and Cuttack but fallen short in both, losing the series with a game still to play in Kolkata on Sunday.

They were unable to defend 350 in the opener and then fell 15 short of India's daunting 381 at Barabati Stadium. There are mitigating factors aplenty, from flat pitches, short boundaries and the classy contributions of centurions Virat Kohli, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni - but no attack that concedes so heavily can consider itself impenetrable.

And Morgan confirmed Broad, a fixture of the Test side but only seen twice with a white ball since the 2015 World Cup, is an increasingly interesting option as minds turn to the eight-team tournament on home soil this summer.

Broad has been impressing for Hobart Hurricanes in this year's Big Bash competition in Australia, a stint which could yet twist the selectors' arms.

"Stuart's always in our thoughts," said Morgan. "He hasn't played since the South Africa tour last year but I thought he charged in at the Big Bash.

"I've watched all his games and he's working on his variations. It's very difficult for him to go straight from Test cricket to playing in the Big Bash but he's made a fist of it, so credit to him.

"He wants to play more white-ball cricket, and he certainly could be an option for the future."

If Broad is looking for encouragement he might also take some from Morgan's frustrated assessment of those in possession, with Chris Woakes probably excused after taking four wickets for 60 runs on Thursday.

"We weren't at our best with the ball. We didn't produce our best performance - or anywhere near our best performance - this game or last which is disappointing," said the captain.

"When you don't execute your plans you're back-tracking a bit and chasing your tail."

Morgan's England side have lost both ODIs in India (AP)

Questions over Morgan's own form, and indeed his wider value to the team, should now take a back seat in the Champions Trophy build-up.

He has been in modest form and invited debate over his role by missing the Bangladesh tour on safety grounds, but hit a fine 102 in 81 balls to re-establish his credentials in the middle order.

Not that such considerations came to him in the moment of defeat.

"When you lose there's absolutely no satisfaction at all," he said. "It's a pretty disappointing day.

"You're captain, you're a professional cricketer and you're playing for your country. You want to perform, you have to perform, people want you to do it all the time. It's never going to happen."

Broad remains a possible inclusion for England's Champions Trophy campaign (Getty)

England batsman Alex Hales will undergo an X-ray on arrival in Kolkata after injuring the little finger on his right hand.

Hales sustained the injury in the field during Thursday's defeat in the second one-day international, diving to attempt to catch centurion Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The opener wore a sling on his right arm as he arrived with the team at Bhubaneswar airport and will be assessed when England land at their next destination.

Should he be ruled out of Sunday's third and final ODI, England have Sam Billings and Jonny Bairstow in reserve.

Hales injured the little finger on his right hand and is a doubt for the third ODI against India (Getty)

Meanwhile, England have been fined by the International Cricket Council for a slow over-rate during the second ODI.

Skipper Eoin Morgan pleaded guilty to the offence after his side were found to be one over short of their target and he was fined 20 per cent of his match fee.

Morgan's team-mates also received 10 per cent fines.