Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has urged the Gautam Gambhir-led team management to focus on building a settled squad well ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. With India making several changes to their playing combinations across formats recently, Yuvraj believes stability and consistent game time will be crucial as the team prepares for the global 50-over tournament.
Some of India’s changes have been forced by injuries, while others have come as part of the team management’s strategy. However, Yuvraj feels the Men in Blue cannot afford to make major alterations at the last minute. Instead, he wants the management to identify a core group and provide those players with enough opportunities before the World Cup.
The former cricketer suggested keeping a pool of 16 to 20 players ready for the tournament and ensuring that every member gets meaningful game time. With the modern international calendar featuring significantly more T20Is than ODIs, Yuvraj believes players expected to feature in the 2027 World Cup need regular exposure to the 50-over format.
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“They need to focus on building the same team to play in a year, because you don’t want to make big changes at the last moment. Whoever your players are, whether they are 16 or 20, everybody must get game time because obviously now there are more T20s and less 50-over cricket.”
Yuvraj also pointed to India’s previous struggles in major tournaments, suggesting that frequent changes at crucial stages can disrupt a team’s plans. He believes the management must show faith in the players they identify as part of the World Cup squad, regardless of occasional failures.
“Every time India has faltered is when they’ve made some massive changes at the last moment or in the tournament. So I think it’s important that we stick to a team that we believe can lift the 2027 World Cup and stick by those guys whether they fail or succeed till that moment.”
The 2011 World Cup winner further advised India to approach the tournament one stage at a time rather than focusing immediately on the final. According to Yuvraj, the first objective should be securing a place in the semi-finals before turning attention towards the knockout matches.
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“We have had a lot of consistency in white-ball cricket. They need to think of first qualifying for the semis and then going on to play in the last two [knockout matches].” Yuvraj also highlighted Australia as a major contender, pointing to their history in ICC tournaments and the presence of several match-winners. He believes Australia’s ability to produce individual match-winning performances, even under pressure, has been a key part of their success.
“That’s the reason why Australia have been successful, because I believe that the Australian side, whenever they won World Cups, they’ve had a lot of match-winners who individually can pull off a game.” For India, the road to the 2027 ODI World Cup will therefore involve not just finding talented players, but creating a settled group capable of handling different match situations.
