The 2027 ICC World Cup will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
However, there are questions about the future of some players in the Indian setup, with seniors Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in focus. Both veterans only play ODI cricket, having retired from T20Is and Test cricket. However, while Virat Kohli has been on top of his game with fitness and form, Rohit Sharma has struggled in both aspects.
Amidst all these issues, Player of the Tournament in India’s 2011 World Cup win, Yuvraj Singh, has stated that India needs to build a consistent team and not make too many changes in the ODI setup. He said that India should continue to play with the same pool of players from now to the World Cup next year, as India will play only a handful of ODIs in the lead-up to the ICC tournament.
"They need to focus on building the same team to play in a year, because you don't want to make big changes at the last moment. Whoever your players are, whether they are 16 or 20, everybody must get game time because obviously now there are more T20S and less 50-over cricket. Whatever matches there are, players must get enough game time to prepare for the World Cup,” Yuvraj Singh said on Cricinfo.
As per Yuvraj Singh, India's failures have always been accompanied by last-minute changes in the squad before the tournament. Thus, consistency in selecting the team is critical.
"Every time India has faltered is when they've made some massive changes at the last moment or in the tournament. 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. Belief in the squad is very important," Yuvraj further said.
Yuvraj Singh stated that Indian team management should look back at how they won two back-to-back T20 World Cup triumphs in 2024 and 2026. He highlighted how India groomed a particular set of players for these tournaments.
Yuvraj also wanted India to first focus on qualifying for the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup 2027 and then winning the final two games.
"That's something that we have also done in the last two T20 World Cups. We also played the 50-over World Cup final [in 2023]. 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," Yuvraj Singh said.
India’s next ODI series will be at home when they host West Indies for a white-ball series, involving three ODIs and three T20Is.