Should Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sanju Samson be in India’s 2027 ODI World Cup squad? Uthappa named his ideal 15-man squad for India’s World Cup campaign in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and did not hesitate to make some bold calls. In their place, he handed a call-up to 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, among others.
The answer is yes, according to former India cricketer Robin Uthappa. Calling it a “bomb squad”, Uthappa dropped some mainstays of India’s current ODI team.
The 2007 T20 World Cup-winner also recalled some experienced heads in the form of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar, who enjoyed a superb IPL with 28 wickets, last played an ODI for India nearly five years ago. Uthappa went with Hardik Pandya in his 15-man team, but did not pick another fast-bowling all-rounder as a backup, instead choosing four frontline pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh. “This is my World Cup team for 2027 in South Africa. Granted, we have a year to go, but I think if these 15 play over the next one year, it will be perfect prep. Robin Uthappa’s 15-man India squad for 2027 World Cup: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
Among batters, Uthappa stuck with the current regulars of skipper Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. He also went with Rohit Sharma, whose future has come under question numerous times of late. Uthappa did not include Yashasvi Jaiswal in his squad, instead going with his much younger Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate Sooryavanshi as the backup opener. In accommodating them, he left out the likes of Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana, who have been mainstays in the white-ball setup in recent times. He also picked Sanju Samson over Ishan Kishan as his backup wicket-keeper batter, stating that Samson has the ability to play at the top and also as a finisher. And this, I feel, is a bomb squad,” Uthappa stated.
