MOHALI: When India’s ODI team assembles here in Mohali on Wednesday, it will mark the official start of their preparations for the ODI World Cup to be held in South Africa in October-November 2027. Rohit Sharma And Hardik Pandya He is expected to be declared fit for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan starting Saturday in Dharamsala. Even as the selectors and team management try to get the right combination, the first thing that needs to be addressed is the dynamics of the dressing room. Ever since Shubman Gill took over as the full-time ODI captain last October, India have lost both the ODI series in Australia and at home against New Zealand. India won the only series at home against South Africa when Gill was ruled out with a neck injury. With Gayle’s two predecessors, Rohit and Virat Kohli, battling doubts over their ability to last another 17 months until the World Cup, there is a sense of uneasiness in strengthening a core.The head coach Gautam Gambhir It is yet to change its authority in the ODI format. For the two years he has been in charge, he has essentially owned the dressing rooms in T20Is and Tests. In the T20 format, the results of Senna Zuri are to be seen. Gambhir was the stamp on the team that won the T20 World Cup in March. He assisted the Chief Selector. Ajit Agarkar Was on the same page. The Test team is also developing a brand, exactly one year after moving to England. The difference between the ODI team and the other two teams is dealing with megastars like Rohit and Kohli. It is understood that Pandya will also have to prove his worth as a bowler in the format. The selectors have continued to wield the ax ruthlessly over the past year. The ODI format is where the deciding factor is negligible. Sources told TOI that the team management and some senior players need to be brought on the same page. It is also learned that some senior players are in constant touch with powerful forces in the BCCI to get clarity on the plans for 2027. Kohli, who turns 38 in November, will miss the Afghanistan series due to a hamstring injury. But he has recently made it abundantly clear that he does not want to be in an environment where he is made to prove himself. Rohit, now 39, firmly believes he can go one better than finishing runner-up in 2023. While Kohli has been in regular form since the South Africa series in November, Rohit’s approach at the top of the order has been markedly different since he led India to the ICC Champions Trophy title in March 2025. Gill averaged less than 30 in the six ODIs he captained. A BCCI source said, “With so many big players in the team, Gayle needs to have a strong voice in the dressing room. Gambhir has not been involved in planning as much as he has in the other two formats. So far, he has let things take their course.” “Now that the focus has shifted to the ODI World Cup build-up, one can expect Gambhir and Gill to take charge and speak strongly in the dressing room. It is important that the senior players, who have served India brilliantly for so many years, are told what role the team expects them to play and the plan to build on it in the next 16 months,” added the source. Gill has enjoyed a brilliant start to his Test captaincy career where he led a group of young men after veterans like Rohit, Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin retired from the format. It depends on him and Gambhir how soon they get a place in the ODI dressing room.
