India’s Road to 2027 Begins: Gill and Gambhir Face Key ODI Questions

Team India’s practice session ahead of the ODI against Afghanistan (Image: Subhayan Chakraborty)

While the Women’s T20 World Cup is on, India’s men’s team also start their quest for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, with a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. India haven’t won a 50-over World Cup in a decade and a half, and 2023 still remains a very painful memory. At the moment, there are quite a few missing pieces to the ODI puzzle.

Fitness concerns rank at the very top of the pile, and the question that needs to be asked is: should India have back-ups for every spot? While Rohit Sharma is ready for the Afghanistan series, Virat Kolhi and Hardik Pandya are both out. While Yashasvi Jaiswal will step in for Kohli, who is to step in for Hardik? Will it be Nitish Kumar Reddy or someone else? Do India have a Hardik back-up? How will Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir shape the ODI team in the next 14 months? What’s the template?

In T20 cricket, India had a clear plan in the last 12 months. It was all or nothing, and the high-risk, high-reward approach paid off. What’s the 50-over template, if any? Rohit brought in a fresh template for the 2023 World Cup. He went big at the top of the order, and it worked for India till the final. In fact, in the final as well, it all seemed to be working till Rohit got out to a superb catch from Travis Head. Will India follow the same template? Is 325 the new 280? How will Gill and Gambhir want to take the story ahead?

Gambhir, it is fair to say, is a superb T20 strategist. His record for KKR and thereafter for India is testimony. But when it comes to the 50-over game, he still needs to prove himself. The same goes for skipper Gill. While Gill did very well in England last year as red-ball captain and wasn’t part of the team that lost to South Africa at home, he needs to do more to take control of the 50-over side.

In that sense, the three matches against Afghanistan are a serious test case. India need to iron out issues before travelling to England, and there is indeed scope for experimentation in the next few months. If a couple of games are lost in the process, that should be acceptable and not be a cause for alarm.

To give the hockey example, Craig Fulton and India had a dismal run in Australia in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics. People had almost given up on the team, and yet India did brilliantly at the Olympics and won a bronze medal. All of what was learnt in Australia was put to use in Paris, and the team played some superb hockey.

You do need to experiment, and take some chances. That’s what Gill and Gambhir will need to do in the next six months. Get batting positions right, bowling combinations in order, and more. If India need to win the World Cup, India need to win each of the days in the next 14 months. And the time starts now.

For more updates on the India vs Afghanistan series, follow RevSportz

The post India’s Road to 2027 Begins: Gill and Gambhir Face Key ODI Questions appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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