Bhuvneshwar last played for India in ODIs in January 2022, while Shami played in 2025 Champions Trophy.
He first talked about Bhuvneshwar Kumar and, while praising his recent IPL heroics, said that simply playing T20 cricket won't help you manage your workload sustainably enough to prepare for a 50-over World Cup.
"One thing goes against Bhuvi. I love him to bits, and I want him to play for India again, but when you don't play Ranji, your workload becomes limited. There are a handful of matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In ODI cricket, you have to bowl 10 overs and field for 50 overs in a match. It's a lot of workload,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar last played a red-ball game in domestic cricket in January 2024 and his last List A game in December 2023. However, he has done extremely well for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their two consecutive IPL wins, including 28 wickets in the IPL 2026 victory.
"It's not easy in a tournament like the World Cup where you have to keep playing continuously. Not only the World Cup, but you will have to be a part of every ODI game from a year earlier. You will have to start playing him from now on.
He is not a bad option, but it will be a mistake unless we give him at least one year to get ready. If you pick someone for the 50-over World Cup based on him bowling four overs in the two months of the IPL and a month of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, no matter how good that person is, it will be wrong,” Chopra added.
If Bhuvneshwar is still being considered for the 2027 World Cup, he also recommended that he be included in the forthcoming ODI series and possibly the T20I assignments.
Chopra believed that Mohammad Shami, who has continued to play red-ball cricket, including the Ranji Trophy, where he took 37 wickets, presently has a greater case than Bhuvneshwar.
"It's the same thing for Shami, although he has played the Ranji Trophy and picked up 37 wickets. He is going to play the Duleep Trophy now as well. So Shami has a slightly better case to make, but the truth is that if we do man-to-man marking in the IPL, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ahead of him in that respect,” Chopra added.
Chopra believes the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand could provide a clear indication of India's plans.
"My understanding is that the selectors, captain, and coach won't take both of them. Maximum one of them can come, and who that one will be, we will come to know in the next four to six months. By New Zealand, we will have an answer as to which of them is going to come or if no one is going to come, because if neither of them is taken to New Zealand, then that's it,” he concluded.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken 141 wickets in 120 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.08 but last played for India in 2022. On the other hand, Mohammad Shami has 206 wickets in 107 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.58, and his last appearance for India came in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.