(Image Credit: Sachin Tendulkar via X)
Recently, former England captain David Gower said that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will hardly play in 2027 in the ICC World Cup. Gower made a similar claim in part of Cricket Predicta, suggesting that the leadership of the Indian team and the overall driving force is moving to younger players such as Shubman Gill.
Selectors have already started to lay the groundwork of such a transition, Rohit Sharma has been succeeded in the ODI captaincy by Gill, who, in fact, is more of a guiding senior than a lead figure in the long term planning. The management seems to have a long term plan with younger faces being groomed and younger leadership steadily surfacing. According to Gower, experienced players are always good to have on board in terms of balance and guidance but the shift of the focus is an indication of more confidence in the emerging generation. He particularly stated that the team may still need to include an all round player such as Rishabh Pant, or any other all round player, even in case of injury, but the backbone of the team will probably consist of younger, more sustainable names.
To that end, the Indian side is being redefined with more role definitions. The vice captain has been assigned to Shreyas Iyer, as a sign of the selectors trusting him as a member of the leadership team. The team is also being specialized in the areas of batting, bowling, and fielding. In terms of squad selection, the article states that Jasprit Bumrah was not selected in the Australia series because of workload management, and Ravindra Jadeja was not selected at all because of strategic decision. Conversely, the spin section has Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj heads the pace attack. In the meantime, newer pacers such as Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are being offered opportunities to gain bench strength before 2027.
Gill, who has already become captain of Tests, referred to the ODI captainship as one of the greatest honours of his career. The story that comes to mind is that of a planned change, less of a rapid dumping of veterans, and more one of a gradual change in the composition of the team. Although fans can decry the slow decline of Kohli and Rohit in high profile tournaments, the board and selectors seem determined in keeping India competitive and fresh in subsequent World Cups.
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