Gautam Gambhir reveals blueprint for the ODI World Cup 2027
Following the successful T20 World Cup 2026 title defence at home, the Indian team are now shifting their focus to the ODI World Cup 2027, which will be held in the next year (most probably October-November 2027) in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The T20 World Cup 2026 title is the second title under Gautam Gambhir’s coaching tenure. Before this, India also lifted the Champions Trophy 2025 title under his coaching tenure.
After winning the title, Gautam Gambhir revealed the blueprint for next year’s 14-team ICC tournament during an interview. Gautam Gambhir firmly said that the team management will have to make the blueprint for the 2027 WC after the IPL 2026.
"The planning for the 2027 World Cup will start after the IPL. There are 25 to 30 ODIs between IPL 2026 and the World Cup. This format is not played a lot these days. The earlier we start planning, the better it will be for us," Gautam Gambhir said in the interview.
"South Africa is not an easy place to play cricket. We have to figure out combinations and identify the players who are suited to the conditions. The selectors and the coaches will do that. By the time IPL 2026 ends, India will have a blueprint for the ODI World Cup 2027," Gambhir added.
The Indian ODI team will next feature against Afghanistan in June, when Hashmatullah Shahidi will tour India for a one-off test and a 3-match ODI series. The BCCI recently announced the schedule of Afghanistan's tour of India in 2026. The ODI series will be played from June 14 to June 20.
After the home ODI series against Afghanistan, India will tour England for a 3-match ODI series. Earlier this year, India played a 3-match home ODI series against New Zealand, where India lost the series 1-2. Virat Kohli was phenomenal in that series, scoring 240 runs in 3 innings, including 1 century and 1 half-century. Even earlier, he scored 302 runs in 3 innings against South Africa, including 2 centuries. While before that series, against Australia, he scored 74 runs in the third ODI, after two consecutive ducks in the first two ODIs.
On the other hand, former ODI skipper Rohit Sharma was the leading run scorer in the Australia series, scoring 202 runs, including a century and a half-century. However, questions were raised about his form after this, when he could score only 146 runs in 3 matches against South Africa, including 2 half-centuries, and only 61 runs in 3 matches against New Zealand.
After the ODI series begins, everyone will focus on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The two veterans are now single-format players. They both have shown their commitment several times to play in the ODI World Cup 2027. The fate of both players will depend on their performance in the upcoming ODI series as well. Both have a significant record in home and away conditions.
Apart from these two, it is expected that Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel will be back in the ODI squad as well. And from here, the Indian team management will start to make a suitable squad for the World Cup.
