India national cricket team captain Shubman Gill revealed that he is discussing long-term plans for the ICC World Cup 2027 with former skipper Virat Kohli ahead of the three-match ODI series against England starting on Monday, July 13 at Edgbaston.
There is massive speculation over the participation of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Shubman Gill reveals talks with Virat Kohli on World Cup before England ODI
However, ahead of the first ODI against England, Shubman Gill has made it clear that Virat Kohli will remain a key part of India’s plans for the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup in South Africa. Meanwhile, Stuart Broad has sent a strong message to England as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah return for the ODIs.
He also stressed that both Rohit Sharma and Kohli have been the “backbone of Team India” for the last decade and will “remain an integral part of the team” going forward.
The captain further stressed that Kohli will have a major role to play when India begin their quest for the 2027 World Cup title. Gill even revealed that he recently had a detailed discussion with the batting superstar about India’s preparations for the tournament.
Virat Kohli’s place in our plans for 2027 ODI World Cup
Their conversation was not just about Kohli’s role in the ICC World Cup 2027, but also about identifying players who can become key members of the team in the future and deciding the ideal mix of batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders and spinners.
“There is no doubt about Virat Kohli’s place in our plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup. He will definitely play a very important role for us in that tournament. Having a senior player like him in the team is a big advantage,” Shubman Gill said in the pre-match press conference.
The Indian captain further added, “In fact, just a day before yesterday, I was discussing with him our plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup. We talked about the team combination, which players can be a part of the team, who can’t, and where each player will fit within the team setup. So yes, Virat is all set and motivated to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup.”
Shubman Gill has suggested major changes to save ODI cricket.
Meanwhile, ODI cricket is struggling for survival as there are fewer 50-over matches in the modern era and T20 leagues are becoming more popular around the world.
However, Gill believes that to make ODI cricket more exciting and help keep the format alive in the modern era of the game, cricket boards should bring back triangular series and multi-team tournaments, where three or four teams play in different countries.
Indian captain said, “We need to bring back the multi-nation series [triangular and quadrangular] Where two teams travel in unfamiliar circumstances. I have grown up watching 50-over cricket and I don’t think there is any need to make it 40-over.
Recently, the Men in Blue suffered embarrassing T20I series defeats in Ireland 2-0 and England (4-0), but Gill insisted that the ODI format is different and those results will have no impact on the series.
Gill signed by saying. “I don’t think the T20 series will have any impact on it. It’s a different format and the team knows what they have to achieve. Different format, different environment.”