The ICC ODI World Cup 2027 will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The tournament will feature 14 teams and is set to be played from 4 October to 21 November 2027. The last time the ODI World Cup was held in Africa was in 2003, and India reached the final of the tournament.
The BCCI will want to send the most amazing Indian team to the competition, as it desperately wants a World Cup trophy in its kitty. However, there might be some players who might not make it into the final squad for the tournament. Let’s have a look at the five players who might not make it to the final squad.
Here are the 5 Indian players who are not shoo-ins for the ICC ODI World Cup 2027:
5. Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar is being groomed as a successor for R Ashwin, but with 30 wickets and 391 runs in 32 ODIs, the Tamil Nadu player has not justified his place in the India XI. Sundar has also failed to be penetrative enough to take crucial wickets, nor does he have the variations like his predecessor. His batting has been found wanting in the death overs to be impressive.
With Zimbabwe being the only place where India would depend on spin and India already having Kuldeep Yadav at their disposal, it remains to be seen whether Sundar will make it into the final squad or not.
4. Shivam Dube
Shivam Dube is usually seen as a T20I specialist by Indian selectors and hence has played only 4 ODIs, scoring 43 runs and taking 1 wicket. Dube might have the power to hit the big sixes, but if he encounters pacy bowlers on bouncy tracks, his powers deteriorate a bit. He is a killer against spinners with the bat, but against quality pace, he struggles.
On the other hand, his bowling is not good enough that he might get in as a pure bowler. If Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy are fit and available for selectors, Dube will not find himself in contention for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
3. Gurnoor Brar
Gurnoor Brar has had a very good start to his India ODI career against Afghanistan. He picked up 7 wickets in his first 3 ODIs and showed good pace of over 145 kph. Brar has also shown that he can bowl on pitches with little to no pace. But in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, India will be playing on bouncy pitches, suited for the 6 ft 6 in Brar to bowl at pace and extract bounce from them.
However, India’s pace attack might see Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj leading the way with Hardik Pandya for company. Brar might get in as backup pacer, but there are many other pacers in line like Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, and Auqib Nabi waiting for their chances.
2. Prasidh Krishna
Prasidh Krishna has cemented his place in India’s Test side with impactful performances recently. However, when it comes to T20I and ODI cricket, Krishna has struggled with his line and length. Despite that, he has 45 wickets in 25 ODIs with best bowling figures of 5/23.
Given his tall build and ability to bowl at 140 kph constantly, Krishna might be a good pick for India in the 2027 World Cup for South African pitches, where he will have bounce and seam working for him. However, he will be competing for a spot with Gurnoor Brar for the fourth seamer spot after Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh.
1. Axar Patel
Given that the 2027 World Cup will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, India might not get to play many matches on spin-friendly surfaces. This might make things difficult for Axar Patel to make inroads in the Indian squad for the ICC event next year.
With Ravindra Jadeja almost pushed out of the ODI team, this makes Axar Patel the only left-arm spin all-rounder in the team. However, India might be willing to play a pace-heavy attack in South Africa with Kuldeep Yadav as the lone spinner. Hence, Axar might have to compete with Washington Sundar for the spin all-rounder role.
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