Team India has currently been one of the strongest teams in white ball cricket. The Men in Blue currently have the T20 World Cup 2026 and the ICC Champions Trophy under their belt. The only trophy missing from his cabinet is the ODI World Cup. They were close in 2023 after winning 10 games in the tournament and lost the final against Australia.
Now, under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir, the team will prepare for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. For the first time since 2003, the ODI World Cup is returning to Africa. The last time the tournament was played here, India and Australia faced each other in the final, in which the Australian team once again had the upper hand.
BCCI will keep an eye on the players selected in IPL
Ahead of next year’s ODI World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already shortlisted a possible 20 cricketers who could be selected in the squad for next year’s premier event, PTI reported. The board is going to keep track of the progress of the players during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
Although the ODI World Cup is still far away, a BCCI source told PTI that the BCCI selectors have a tentative list of players, and members of the selection panel are expected to be present in some of the matches during IPL 2026. The IPL is scheduled to begin on March 28, with defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) facing off against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
ODI World Cup players seen during IPL
The BCCI source said the selection panel members, including SS Das, RP Singh, Ajay Ratra and Pragyan Ojha, will visit the stadium and also keep an eye on the IPL matches on television.
“The BCCI is considering having each selector watch at least one game per week, including five games per week from the venue. Otherwise they can obviously keep an eye on TV,” the official said.
The report also states that it is unlikely that the selectors will have the LA Olympics or T20 World Cup 2028 in mind as they will be keeping an eye on the players throughout the IPL season. They are not expected to select any breakout stars during next year’s World Cup, as they are already firm on the players they can select next year.
India will play with full strength against Afghanistan
The source also said that they will keep an eye on all-rounder Hardik Pandya as well as four fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh. Since Harshit Rana is out of IPL due to knee surgery and it will take time, they will decide on his future later.
Despite not being awarded World Test Championship points, India will field a full-strength team against Afghanistan in the one-off Test. “The India Test cap is not meant for experimentation. For that, you have India A shadow tours. As of now, in Tests, Bumrah, Siraj and Prasidh are the top three bowlers on the selectors’ radar,” the BCCI source said.
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