The 50-over World Cup is slated to be held in India later this year.
With nearly 10 months to go for the 50-over World Cup, former opener Gautam Gambhir feels India players should prioritize playing ODIs and he sees nothing wrong if a few of them miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in 2023.
Gambhir’s comments came after BCCI recently released a statement, saying that the National Cricket Academy (NCA) will monitor the workload of players shortlisted for the 2023 ODI World Cup at home in October-November.
"Look, if the franchises have to suffer, they have to suffer. Indian cricket is the main stakeholder, not the IPL. IPL is just the byproduct, so if India goes on to win the World Cup, that’s the bigger vision," Gambhir, who is the mentor of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants, said while speaking to Star Sports.
"If an important player misses the IPL, so be it. IPL happens every year, World Cup happens only once in 4 years. For me, winning the World cup is far more important than winning the IPL," he added.
According to Gambhir, India have made the mistake of not playing their best XI consistently leading up to marquee events in the last few years and he wants to see big names to be available for ODIs in 2023 even if it means skipping T20Is and some IPL fixtures.
"This year ODIs for sure. People who are taking all 3 formats, if they have to take a break, then they can take breaks from T20Is, surely not from the ODIs. They have got to play together," he stated.
"The biggest mistake that Indian cricket has made probably in the last two World Cups is that these guys haven't played enough cricket together. Tell me, how many times have we got the best XI on the park? Only during the World Cup, they decided to play the best XI and that didn't turn out to be the best XI.
"They have to decide if they want to take a break from the T20Is or from the IPL. If they have to take a break, it should be from the T20I format and not the ODIs," Gambhir further remarked.