Rohit, Reddy in spotlight as India begins WC 2027 journey

Rohit Sharma’s match fitness will be tested, but India’s team management would also closely monitor Nitish Kumar Reddy’s performance as a back-up for injury-prone Hardik Pandya when they formally begin their 2027 World Cup preparations with the first-ever ODI series against Afghanistan here on Saturday.

Having nursed a hamstring niggle during the IPL, Rohit has managed to regain full fitness just in time for the three games against Afghanistan, while top draw Virat Kohli will miss the series due to a rare hamstring injury. As India plans for the World Cup in South Africa in October-November 2027, there are doubts over whether the 39-year-old Rohit can last till the ODI showpiece.

India is scheduled to play 25-odd ODIs before the mega event, giving the team enough time to experiment with players and combinations.  With two losses in three series, the start to Shubman Gill’s ODI captaincy has not been smooth and working alongside head coach Gautam Gambhir, he would be looking to expand his footprint in the dressing room. Shubman and Rohit are expected to open the innings, while there would be a toss-up between comeback man Ishan Kishan and Yashasvi Jaiswal at number three in Kohli’s absence.

Newly appointed T20 captain Shreyas Iyer will bat at number four. Both Rohit and Shreyas were linked with the India squad in Chandigarh before the team travelled to the picturesque hill town on Thursday.

KL Rahul, the number one wicket-keeper batter in the side, is part of the middle-order, and Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to follow him in the batting line-up at number six. Reddy’s batting credentials have never been in doubt, but whether he can consistently do the job with the ball as Hardik’s back-up remains to be seen.

Like Hardik, Reddy too has had his fair share of injuries, and the selectors would be keen to see if he is good enough to last 10 overs with his medium pace.

Reddy did make his presence felt with both bat and ball in the IPL, and he would aim to replicate that form in one-day cricket.

The ball travels fast in the high altitude of Dharamsala, with the pitch usually offering decent pace and bounce.

The other all-rounder in the side would be off-spinner Washington Sundar, while the second spin option is likely to be Kuldeep Yadav, who has not been in the best of form but will carry the confidence of 194 wickets in 120 ODIs. Uncapped left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, who can also bat, is another spin option in the squad. 

Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna form the pace battery, while Prince Yadav or Gurnoor Brar could make their international debut as the third fast bowler. Both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been rested from the series for workload management.

Afghanistan, who were outplayed in India in the one-off Test, are a far better white-ball side.

They would be bolstered by the return of Rashid Khan, who has shelved red-ball cricket for the time being following a back surgery.

Veteran Mohammed Nabi will also lend balance to the side led by Hashmatullah Shahidi. Afghanistan would take heart from their ODI World Cup performance in India back in 2023 when they nearly made the semi-finals. Pacer Mohammad Saleem, who took a six-wicket haul in the Test in Chandigarh, has been duly added to the ODI squad. Players who played in the brutal heat of Mullanpur would be more than happy to take the field in the cooler climes of Dharamsala with the snow-capped mountains forming a breathtaking backdrop.

Squads:

India: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Ishan Kishan, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav.

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Bilal Sami, Nangeyalia Kharoti, Fareed Ahmad Malik, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Darwish Rasooli, Ibrahim Zadran, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi.

Morkel pleased with Reddy’s improvement as a bowler

Dharamsala: Nitish Reddy, groomed as a back-up to injury-prone India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, would be keenly watched in the ODI series against Afghanistan beginning on Saturday. Reddy’s improvement as a medium pacer was on full display in the recent IPL. With the next World Cup in October-November 2027, India would like to have a ready backup for Hardik. With what Morkel have seen of Reddy the all-rounder of late, he is happy with his progress.

“You plan, you look at your options like we do in batting and bowling. Same as with the all-rounders. Unfortunately, Hardik is missing this series. He picked up a niggle, quite a niggle, very close to joining camp.

“But again, it’s another opportunity now for Nitish Kumar Reddy. He’s been playing beautifully in the last two years,” said Morkel when asked how India is planning for life beyond Hardik. Reddy has increased his pace after making some technical adjustments. He picked up crucial wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the recent IPL and was equally impressive with the bat. “When the players get the opportunity to work and develop their own game, look at areas where they can improve.

And Nitish did that. It was from a technical point of view to get him a little bit better at the crease, more balanced, so the energy flows down the wicket,” Morkel said.

“In both departments, there’s improvement. So, yeah, we’re excited for him to get an opportunity and see how he puts that together on an international stage. And, yeah, it’s always nice to have that extra helping hand.”

On playing Afghanistan and preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup, he added: “We need to build on the bigger picture down the line. So, a lot of our focus, a lot of our training, the way we go, the way we’re going to play the game, is going to be internal and focus on us and not so much on the opposition.

“But saying that, Afghanistan’s white-ball record is very good. We’ve seen in the World Cup what they can do on the day. So, there’s obviously a lot of respect for this team.

“They’ve got a lot of quality on their side. It’s been a lot of dangerous players. So, we need to be on top of the game.”