- Gill would have preferred ODIs over T20Is on tour of New Zealand. Indian ctain Shubman Gill says playing ODIs early would have given them a chance to prepare for the World Cup with a complete team. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiling after dismissing Pat Cummins. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup World, Chennai, October 8, 2023 The two big events that all the teams are preparing for are the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June 2027 and the ODI World Cup in October-November 2027.
- For this reason, the Indian squad would have liked to have had full squads available for the ODI and Test series in New Zealand.
- Instead, thanks to the short time between these two series, India have rested their best fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the entire ODI series and will be without a number of their other Test players, including Gill, for the fourth and fifth ODIs.
Gill would have preferred ODIs over T20Is on tour of New Zealand. Indian ctain Shubman Gill says playing ODIs early would have given them a chance to prepare for the World Cup with a complete team. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiling after dismissing Pat Cummins. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup World, Chennai, October 8, 2023 The two big events that all the teams are preparing for are the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June 2027 and the ODI World Cup in October-November 2027.
For this reason, the Indian squad would have liked to have had full squads available for the ODI and Test series in New Zealand. Instead, thanks to the short time between these two series, India have rested their best fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the entire ODI series and will be without a number of their other Test players, including Gill, for the fourth and fifth ODIs. “Both the ODI and Test series are very important,” Gill said on the eve of the first ODI in Auckland.
“If it was in my hands and all the players were fit, I would have liked all the players we are considering to play [for the entire ODI series] during the World Cup, but the two Test matches are also very important.” “If it had been one-day first, then T20, then Test, we could have played all five [ODI] matches [with our strongest team], but [we couldn’t] because the g between the one-day [series] and the Test matches was very small.” South Africa’s 2-1 win in the home Test series against Australia boosted India’s chances – currently fourth in the WTC rankings behind New Zealand, South Africa and Australia – of qualifying for next year’s WTC finals. After the two Tests in New Zealand, India has five more Tests lined up this cycle, all against Australia at home in early 2027.
“The WTC scenario has become very interesting,” Gill said. “The series between Australia and South Africa was really interesting and really balanced the table. If we do well in the Test series here and then play Australia at home, hopefully we have a chance of playing in the final.
“Both the ODI and Test series are very important but since we are playing the one-day series between [the T20Is and the Tests], unfortunately the Test team players will have to miss the last two days.” One of India’s big concerns heading into the 2027 World Cup is the fitness of their key bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been out of action since the IPL 2026 due to a series of injuries and problems. He most recently suffered a shin injury that kept him out of India A’s 50-over series against Australia A last month. “Firstly, I think he is a great player,” Gill said of Hardik.
“The qualities he brings to the team that not many players in the world have, the ability to have a fast all-rounder who can play [at any phase] of the game, with the new ball, middle overs and death overs, and the kind of shots he has.” Aakash Chopra comments on Kuldeep Yadav’s chances of playing in the ODI series against New Zealand: “It is very unfortunate that he has not been able to play since the IPL and yes, we have had several discussions. He was supposed to play the India A games [against Australia A] but just before that he had some problems again. Hopefully he’ll be fit again soon and playing domestic cricket and hopefully we’ll see him back in the team soon. “While the 2027 World Cup will be played primarily on the pitches of South Africa, India has in recent months sought to try out a number of great fast bowlers in their ODI squads, including Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana – both injured and ruled out of the ongoing series – and Gurnoor Brar.”
Gill said these bowlers are invaluable in the middle of ODI matches. “When the ball gets old, when there’s not a lot of seam movement or swing, how do you challenge the hitter?” Gil said. “You can either challenge the batsman when there is something in the wicket – if the ball is stitched up it will be difficult for the batsman to score – or you can challenge the batsman with pace and bounce.”
“So identifying the kind of bowlers who can make it difficult for batters to score and who can give us the best opportunity to take wickets in the middle overs – that was the idea of trying out someone like a Gurnoor or a Prasidh who will give us a little bit more than someone who might bowl at 135 [km/h] when the wicket is flat.” “I’ve played a lot in the middle overs and I’ve noticed that when those bowlers can hit the right areas – of course hitting the right areas is key – when tall, fast bowlers can hit the right areas, it’s a lot harder to score runs than someone bowling at 135, 130 [km/h]. “You have to be very precise with your shots.
You really have to be in top she to score against someone who can go over 90 mph and is 6’3″, 6’1″ and 6’8″. And there’s a lot more risk when you try to score freely [against] that kind of bowler. gave them the chance to play against a full team to prepare for the World Cup. Indian ctain Shubman Gill says participating early in the ODIs would have given them a chance to play against a full team to prepare for the World Cup.
