Former Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane has shared his picks for the five fast bowlers for India’s squad for the ICC World Cup 2027 tournament. The premier ICC event will be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia and will be played from October 2nd to November 21st.
India is considered to be one of the favorites to win the tournament, and Ajinkya Rahane, who played for India in the 2015 edition of the ODI World Cup, was asked to choose five fast bowlers in the Indian squad for the 50-over event.
Rahane was quick to name the first four pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh. He thought for a while before choosing Mayank Yadav as the fifth pacer who should be included in the 2027 World Cup squad for India.
Interestingly, Rahane omitted Harshit Rana, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammad Shami from his choices.
Since making his debut for India in 2024 in a Test in Australia, Rana has been an all-format player for India. He is currently injured and working on his comeback to the Indian playing side. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who recently made his India comeback in T20Is after four years, was also ignored by Rahane. Kumar’s last ODI for India also came in 2022, against South Africa.
The third much-discussed pacer that Rahane ignored was Mohammad Shami, who last played for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, and was also not in the list picked by Ajinkya Rahane.
“Pehla Bumrah, no doubt. Second Arshdeep Singh, third Prasidh Krishna, fourth Mohammed Siraj, fifth Mayank Yadav," Rahane said in a video posted by Sony Sports on Saturday.
In the 2027 ODI World Cup, India will open their campaign against defending champions Australia on October 7 and then take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their second match on October 10 in Johannesburg.
