Shubman Gill wants Test regulars to play Ranji Trophy, firms up 2027 ODI World Cup plans | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: India will not play red-ball cricket again until August, when they tour Sri Lanka for a two-match away series in the ongoing 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle. However, captain Shubman Gill is keen to ensure that the regulars get sufficient red-ball game time before the next assignment.The upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy will feature many current India stars as Gill wants them to play at least one fixture before they join their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) teams for the 2026 edition.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! It has been seen in the past that players tend to avoid the longer format grind before the IPL and to ensure that it doesn’t happen this time, there was a discussion between coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain before the ODIs series against New Zealand got underway and the management was in agreement with the suggestion. Not part of the 2026 T20I World Cup squad, Gill is currently leading the ODI and Test sides and is already fine tuning plans for the ongoing WTC cycle and the 2027 World Cup. Gill has already emphasised on the need for adequate preparation before a Test series and wants his side to be ready for the next assignment. Ahead of the New Zealand ODI series, Gill stressed on how a loose calendar would be ideal.“One of the suggestions that I was very keen on is, if you would see in the last two Test series that we played, we didn’t have that much time to prepare,” Gill said during the pre-series press conference.“It’s not easy playing another match in a different country and then playing in India on the fourth day. Especially when you’re traveling on long tours.“I think it’s important to at least have some bit of preparation, some time. Especially when changing from white-ball format to red-ball. So this was one of the things that I was very keen on, and I think we’ll take some action and we’ll keep it in mind to be able to prepare well before the start of any red-ball series,” he had added.India hopped continents and formats before the Test series against South Africa, which the hosts lost 0-2, and Gill retierated why the scenario wasn’t ideal.“Maybe it would be easier to have a little loose calendar,” Gill said. “I don’t think in 2016, 2017, 2018, there was a time when if you’re coming from another country [back] to India, you’re playing a match on the fourth day. Maybe it’s easier to play a match on the 10th day. Maybe it’s easier to play a match on the 12th day. It gives a bit of breather for the players as well, and it gives you that time to prepare and feel confident for the next series,” said Gill.
Firming up ODI plans
There is considerable attention given to the 50-over format too and it is learnt that the need for an ideal first change bowler has been identified and the thinktank feels penetration is needed in the middle-overs, with a seam bowler. Kuldeep Yadav didn’t have the series he would have liked against New Zealand but he continues to have the backing of the men who matter.
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The Indian team management wants to groom fast bowlers for future, not just the 2027 World Cup, and that is why a lot of opportunities would be given to youngsters like Harshit Rana, who has been identified for the middle-overs role with his ability to hit the deck and mix it up. The continuous backing of Prasidh Krishna is primarily for this reason as the management feels his extra pace and bounce will add that surprise element in the middle-overs. Mohammed Siraj will continue to be a regular in the ODI set-up because the new ball change rule has brought reverse-swing back to the ODI mix and he has the skill-set to use it in his favour. In Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh, a fast bowling core for the next few years has been identified and it will now boil down to using them at the right time, based on their skill-set. Middle-overs penetration is what Gill and Gambhir are looking at.
