Former captain Anil Kumble has urged head coach Gautam Gambhir to begin India’s transition towards the 2027 ODI World Cup after the Champions Trophy. While India has embraced a younger T20I squad, their ODI team still includes experienced players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami.
Despite the presence of senior players, India has excelled in the 50-over format, with their contributions instrumental in an unbeaten run to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
However, speaking to ESPN Cricinfo ahead of India’s 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Bangladesh, Anil Kumble emphasized that the tournament’s outcome should not influence India’s long-term ODI plans.
“You could say this is a very important tournament for a coach who has to make those tough calls in terms of transitioning from the legacy players to the others. But that’s the job of the coach, to make those hard decisions.”
“This tournament could determine where those seniors would go, and where India would look at making those changes. Win or lose, you need these tough calls to be made at the earliest. You need to start looking ahead in white-ball cricket, especially at the 2027 World Cup,” he said.
“He has performed well in T20Is”- Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble commended Gautam Gambhir for India’s impressive performance in T20Is and encouraged him to replicate that success with the ODI squad after the ongoing Champions Trophy. India remained unbeaten on their way to winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, after which Gambhir was appointed as head coach.
Since then, the team has maintained its dominant form, securing victories in five consecutive bilateral T20I series.
“He (Gambhir) has a fresh, young team and plenty of players to choose and build from, so he needs to organically start preparing for the 2027 World Cup. In T20Is, he’s done well,” said Kumble.
He further added:
“Suryakumar Yadav has been a great captain. The next World Cup is still two years from now, and the new set of players will need a consistent run of games playing with each other, to understand many things like the batting order, match situation, and tactics.”
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