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India National Cricket Team captain Shubman Gill revealed that he has been discussing the long-term plans for the ICC World Cup 2027 with the former skipper Virat Kohli ahead of the three-match ODI series against England, starting on Monday, July 13, at Edgbaston.
There have been massive speculations over Rohit Sharma's and Virat Kohli’s participation in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
Shubman Gill reveals World Cup talks with Virat Kohli ahead of England ODIs
However, before the first ODI against England, Shubman Gill has made it clear that Virat Kohli remains a key part of India's plans for the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup in South Africa. Amid this, Stuart Broad sends strong message to England as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah return for ODI.
He also stressed that both Rohit Sharma and Kohli have been the “backbone of Team India” for the past decade and will “remain an integral part of the team” going forward.
The skipper has further stressed that Kohli will have a major role to play when India begin their quest for the 2027 World Cup title. Even Gill also 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 the 2027 ODI World Cup
Their conversation was not just about Kohli's role at the ICC World Cup 2027 but also about identifying players who can become key members of the squad in the future and deciding the ideal mix of batters, bowlers, all-rounders, and spinners.
Shubman Gill said at the pre-match press conference, “There is absolutely 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 of his caliber in the team is a huge advantage.”
The Indian captain further added, “In fact, just the day before yesterday, I was discussing our plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup with him. We talked about team combinations, which players could be part of the squad, who might not be, and where each player would fit best within the team setup. So yes, Virat is fully prepared and motivated to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup.”
Shubman Gill suggests big change to save ODI cricket
Meanwhile, ODI cricket is struggling for survival because there are fewer 50-over matches in the modern era with T20 leagues becoming more popular around the world.
However, Gill believes that cricket boards should bring back tri-series and multi-team tournaments, where three or four teams play in different countries to make ODI cricket more exciting and help the format to survive in the modern era of the game.
The Indian captain added, “We need to bring back multi-nation series [triangular and quadrangular] where two teams travel to unfamiliar conditions. I grew up watching 50-over cricket and don’t think there’s any need to switch it to 40 overs.”
"T20I losses won't matter": Shubman Gill warns England
Recently, the Men in Blue suffered embarrassing T20I series defeats in Ireland 2-0 and England (4-0), but Gill stressed that the ODI format is different and those results won’t have any impact on the series.
Gill signed off by saying. “I don’t think there will be any impact of the T20 series on this one. This is a different format, and the team knows what it has to achieve. Different format, different atmosphere.”
