India's probable 15 for 2027 ODI World Cup: Harshit Rana may get a chance
With India in a group with Australia, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, a projected squad for South Africa has Shubman Gill as captain and Harshit Rana in contention.
The 2027 ODI World Cup, hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, begins on October 2. Next year's tournament will run for 51 days, with 57 matches in all. India's group includes six-time champions Australia, along with Pakistan and hosts Zimbabwe.
An estimate has now been made of what the Indian team travelling to South Africa could look like. The places of some senior players are considered certain at this World Cup. Some players have only a few months left to secure their spots. There is also talk that the room for some players to find a place in the team has shrunk.
In the playing XI, the places of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill are secure. Yashasvi Jaiswal could be included as backup. Jaiswal is seen as an opener for the future, and for that reason he has secured his place in all the upcoming ODI series.
In the middle order, ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer has secured the No. 4 slot. Shreyas has considerable experience there and has scored 2,000 runs so far at No. 4. K L Rahul will be the team management's choice as wicketkeeper and can bat steadily at No. 5. Rishabh Pant could be picked as backup wicketkeeper and another middle-order option. However, Pant is not currently part of the ODI team.
The World Cup matches will be played on African pitches, so the management will pick as many fast bowlers as possible. For the past few days there has been strong talk that pace-bowling all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Hardik Pandya have secured their places in the World Cup team. Ravindra Jadeja could play the World Cup as a spinner. Washington Sundar will get a place in the squad for Africa as a backup all-rounder.
In bowling, pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead India's pace attack. Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana could join him in the squad. Harshit Rana has been injured for the past few days. Even so, his height, searing pace and bounce could prove useful on South African pitches. He can also contribute with the bat. Kuldeep Yadav could be seen here as the main spinner.
According to the estimate, India's squad could look like this: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, K L Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.
