ROHIT SHARMA, VIRAT KOHLI
India’s preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup have already brought one major question into focus: what will their squad look like when the tournament gets underway in October? The World Cup will be staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, with India aiming to win the title for the third time after falling short in the 2023 final. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli having retired from the other formats of international cricket, their availability for the 50-over showpiece remains a key talking point. Amid the uncertainty, India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh has stressed the importance of one thing above all else: consistency. So I think it’s important that we stick to a team that we believe can lift the 2027 World Cup and stick by those guys whether they fail or succeed till that moment. He also cited India’s success in the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups as an example of how developing a settled group can help a team prepare for a major tournament. India also reached the 50-over World Cup final in 2023. “We also played the 50-over World Cup final [in 2023].
“That’s something that we have also done in the last two T20 World Cups,” Yuvraj said. Yuvraj pointed to India’s past struggles at major tournaments and argued that sudden changes close to a World Cup can disrupt a team’s preparations. “Every time India has faltered is when they’ve made some massive changes at the last moment or in the tournament. So we have had a lot of consistency in white-ball cricket. And that’s what they need to do as well, to think of first qualifying for the semis and then going on to play in the last two [knockout matches]. I think that’s a long way ahead. Focus should be on getting a squad ready, which is together and ready to fight in any situation,” the star former all-rounder further went on to say.