The ICC World Cup 2027 will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia from Oct 2 to Nov 21.
Mohammad Kaif, ex-India cricketer, revealed that while the focus will be on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during India’s 2027 World Cup preparations, there are two key aspects that the Men in Blue management need to pay attention to if the side wants to realize its World Cup dreams.
The 2027 World Cup tournament will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. And Kaif pointed out that South Africa's pitches and conditions have become batting-friendly, and the difference in the quality of the bowling attacks will determine the winner.
Apart from a few group stage games, South Africa will play hosts in both the semi-finals and the final of the 2027 World Cup. Cape Town, Centurion, and Johannesburg are the venues for the three important clashes.
"The conditions have become much better in South Africa; there are a lot of batting-friendly pitches. So, I don't think bowlers will dominate. I feel batters will dominate, so the team with better bowlers will do well. The focus is on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli; I think they will be fine. If India has to win, bowling and fielding must be sorted out. They are the two important aspects," said Kaif, as quoted by Hindustan Sports.
Since Virat and Rohit will be 39 and 40 years old, respectively, by the time of the ODI World Cup, there is concern about their participation. Kaif emphasized the value of working as a team and said that Kohli by himself will not help India win the World Cup.
"One player will not win you the World Cup abroad. Kohli is the main player, but a lot of others will need to help," the former batter said.
Kaif used the 2003 ODI World Cup as an example, where India finished second after losing to Australia in the championship match. The player of the tournament went to Sachin Tendulkar.
"Tendulkar was our main batter, but if you check the matches, others also contributed. Yuvraj got important runs, I got an unbeaten half-century against New Zealand, Rahul Dravid scored runs, Virender Sehwag scored runs, Ashish Nehra produced a match-winning spell against England, Zaheer Khan bowled good spells, and Javagal Srinath was our senior bowler. Ganguly's captaincy was excellent, and a lot of credit goes to him," explained Kaif.
The ICC World Cup 2027 will begin on October 2, and the final will be played on November 21.