‘Can’t go to the World Cup half-cooked’

“You can’t go into a World Cup half-cooked,” Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, has actually stated about Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in the context of the 2027 ODI World Cup, while worrying that both gamers were “extremely important” to India seeing that the competition will be kept in southern Africa.

“Whether it’s Hardik, whether it’s Jasprit Bumrah, they are going to be extremely important for us in [southern] Africa,” Gambhir stated in an interview on JioHotstar. “Very few teams have players [like Hardik] who can bowl ten overs and give you runs from No. 6 or No. 7, that too with such impact. So the focus for us – especially for Hardik, who needs game time as well; he hasn’t played a lot of cricket since the IPL – if we talk about 50-over cricket, if we want to play him, he might be short of cricket.

“If he plays a bit of T20 cricket and after that gets to one-day cricket, since video game time entering into the World Cup is going to be incredibly, incredibly essential. You can’t go to the World Cup half-cooked. You need to have adequate video game time and your rhythm must be great enough, due to the fact that there are no ifs and buts when it comes to a World Cup. There are no opportunities to make errors.

“The same is with Jassi as well. With him, too, the thought process is how much one-day cricket we can make him play. Plus Test cricket is equally important. So it is going to be critical to figure out how much workload and game time is ideal.”

Determining a timeline for Hardik’s go back to top-flight cricket is likewise crucial. As Gambhir pointed out, he hasn’t played because IPL 2026 (and missed out on 4 video games there too). Speaking throughout the current ODI series in between Afghanistan and India in Delhi, Gambhir had actually stated that he didn’t “want to push” Hardik back to the nationwide group in a rush. Hardik – who Gambhir mentioned “cannot bowl ten overs” – will be making his return with the India A group in their series of one-day matches versus Australia A.

“If those 11 or 15 don’t play together enough, more than the combination, the confidence of the captain is more important. Sometimes, T20 cricket comes in between and sometime you just don’t have the time you need, you can’t play everyone you want because of the three formats”

Gautam Gambhir on the value of having the first-choice gamers fit and readily available

In these situations, getting the first-choice XI to play together enough in the lead-up to the World Cup might be difficult.

“The more the merrier,” Gambhir stated when asked the number of video games together would be perfect. “I feel the more they play together… take the 15, or 16, one player here and there, our combination will be better the more they play together.

“Not simply the mix, it will provide the captain [Shubman Gill] more self-confidence. He will understand how to utilize those 11 or 15 gamers. If those 11 or 15 do not play together enough, more than the mix, the self-confidence of the captain is more crucial. Often, T20 cricket can be found in between and at some point you simply do not have the time you require, you can’t play everybody you desire since of the 3 formats.”

Workouts ‘I couldn’t sleep’ – Gautam Gambhir on dropping Sanju Samson

Gambhir called leaving out Sanju Samson for the T20I series against England after twin failures in Ireland, which came immediately after he was the Player of the Tournament in India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign, was “the most difficult choice in my training period in the T20 format”. But, he clarified, India needed to give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a break at that point.

“In 2 years of my journey, that was the only night I might not sleep and I informed this to Sanju since I understood that it was most likely the hardest choice in my training period in the T20 format – to overlook somebody who was Player of the Tournament after just 3 or 4 video games,” Gambhir, who has been in the position since June 2024, said. “The factor was most likely that Vaibhav remained in that type of type [Player of the Tournament at the IPL] And we had to win the series.

“Because ultimately you are there and when you are playing for India, or when you are coaching India, you want to win each and every series possible. I had a very, very honest conversation with him [Samson] and I told him that that is one of the reasons why, because Vaibhav was in that kind of form and we needed someone to score runs at the top, we needed that little bit of a platform at the top as well. And he was fine with it. That’s a conversation which me and Sanju had, and he took it in good spirits.”

Ever since, regardless of excellent efficiencies from Sooryavanshi – he was the Player of the Series in India’s 3-0 T20I series win in Zimbabwe – Samson has actually rejoined Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order.

“I know, it is [tough on a young player like Sooryavanshi],” Gambhir stated. “But then, I made him understand that I know you’re in good form, but sometimes with the players who have done well for a long time, you will have to wait for your opportunity.

“There’s another thing – social networks or outdoors sound does not choose the playing XI. The playing XI is chosen by who, because dressing space, the coach and captain feel can win us the match, what is the very best playing XI, and who have actually succeeded for such a very long time.

“If Vaibhav plays today, then it’s going to be a tough conversation between me and whoever we leave out, whether it’s Abhishek or Sanju.”