Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has picked India’s strongest playing XI for the forthcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2027, which is scheduled to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Speaking to Star Sports, Ganguly picked Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as part of the team’s top order. Further, he selected Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya for the middle-order slots.
Later, the former Indian skipper reckoned that one player among Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar could be slotted in at No.7. Moving forward, he picked Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to end the XI.
“India will need a batter or batting all-rounder at No.7 as they have to bat deep in the South African conditions. I am not sure if Jadeja will be considered. If he is, then one of him, Dube, or Sundar can be the No.7. Axar at 8 makes it a very strong batting lineup and well balanced,” Ganguly said on Star Sports.
Interestingly, Ganguly left the veteran wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav out of his preferred World Cup 2027 playing XI, despite the spinner performing well in the West Indies ODI series at home. Lately, Kuldeep bagged a ‘Player of the Match’ award on a batting-friendly Trivandrum surface against the West Indies after scalping a four-wicket haul.
Sourav Ganguly’s India playing XI for the ODI World Cup 2027: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar/Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
The World Cup starts on October 2, 2027, with the opening Super Series matches in Windhoek, while the group stage officially gets underway on October 7, 2027, when India faces Australia in Cape Town.
