ODI World Cup 2027: Ashwin picks India’s squad, backs Bhuvneshwar’s return; Pant, Samson among big omissions

New Delhi: The ODI World Cup is scheduled to be played in October-November next year. Discussions have already begun over team combinations and strategies for the 2027 tournament. In this context, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has also selected his team. In an interview with a cricket website, he identified the players who could be part of the Indian team for next year’s World Cup.

Ravichandran Ashwin has picked the players he believes could represent India at the 2027 ODI World Cup. In a video released by Cricinfo, he categorised the players into those who will, maybe or unlikely to play for India at the 2027 ODI World Cup. The ODI World Cup will be played next year in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Rohit and Virat will definitely be part of the team

Ashwin stated that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will definitely be part of the Indian team for this World Cup. He also selected Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and captain Shubman Gill in the squad. He picked Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya as all-rounders. Kuldeep Yadav was his first choice spinner. Ashwin then named Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah in his pacers list. He also chose Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

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These players names are stuck in ifs and buts Ashwin appeared to be confused about some players and put them in the “maybe” category. These included Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna.

Who missed out on Ashwin’s World Cup team?

Ashwin also made it clear that some players will not be part of the Indian team for next year’s ODI World Cup. These included Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav, and Gurnoor Brar. He also omitted Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant from his World Cup squad.

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Why did Ashwin include Bhuvneshwar Kumar?

Ashwin’s list includes senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. This name surprised many, but Ashwin says the Indian team will need experience for this big tournament.

Explaining his decision, “Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be part of the World Cup squad. I will talk to him. He should play all the tournaments. First-class, Vijay Hazare, everything. And reach the peak of his game before going to South Africa. I think we will need him there.”

Bhuvneshwar Kumar last played an ODI for India in 2022. He has not played an ODi for India since then. He has performed well in the last two IPLs. He played a key role in helping Royal Challengers Bangalore win two consecutive IPL trophies. In two years, he took 45 wickets in 30 IPL matches, averaging 21.87 and having an economy rate of 8.56.

Bhuvneshwar has taken 141 wickets in 121 matches for India at an economy rate of 5.08.