To keep his preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup on track, India’s pace leader Jasprit Bumrah is probably going to play more 50-over matches over the next 18 months rather than T20I bilateral series.
Despite a busy schedule of bilateral series and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, where Suryakumar Yadav is anticipated to captain the team, T20Is would be a low priority until October–November 2027.
Although ODIs will be Bumrah’s main white-ball format until the 2027 World Cup, it is known that he, like many senior Indian players, is very eager to compete in the 2028 T20 Olympics in Los Angeles.
After a demanding two months of the Indian Premier League, where Bumrah will lead the Mumbai Indians’ pace attack, India’s preparations for the ODI World Cup will begin in earnest.
It is believed that the national selection committee, the Centre of Excellence, led by VVS Laxman, and the team management, represented by Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill, will draft the blueprint for the next stage by the end of the IPL, with Bumrah’s workload management being the most crucial component.
It is anticipated that the 32-year-old pacer’s workload management would resemble that of the 2023–2026 period, when he did not play a single ODI, and that the World Test Championships (WTC) matches are non-negotiable.
Bumrah has participated in 42 games since the most recent ODI World Cup final against Australia on November 19, 2023, including 21 Test matches and an equal amount of Twenty20 Internationals.
“Obviously Bumrah’s fitness is as always key to any of India’s global campaign and hence the Indian team management will have to be very careful and prioritise the formats. Keep Test cricket aside, which he will obviously play, but in the 50-over World Cup cycle, he will concentrate more on ODIs. There will be around 30-35 odd games and one can’t take chances,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
In terms of ODI cricket, India’s fast bowling pool isn’t very large, but it is believed that Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana (whenever he gets fit) will make up the core.
