SportsPosted at: Sep 16 2026 7:16PM


Yuvraj urges India to stick with settled ODI squad ahead of 2027 World Cup

New Delhi, Sep 16 (UNI) With the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia less than a year away, former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has urged the team management to maintain consistency in selection and give a settled group of players enough game time ahead of the marquee tournament.
India will be aiming for a third ODI World Cup title in 2027 after narrowly missing out on the trophy on home soil in 2023. With limited 50-over cricket being played amid the growing prominence of T20s, Yuvraj believes India cannot afford to make wholesale changes in the run-up to the tournament.
According to Yuvraj, who was the Player-of-the-Series during India’s 2011 World Cup-winning campaign, the selectors should identify a core group of 16 to 20 players and stick with them over the next year, allowing them to gain sufficient match experience before the World Cup.
“They need to focus on building the same team to play in a year's time, because you don't want to make big changes at the last moment,” Yuvraj was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
"Whoever your players are, whether they are 16 or 20, it's important that everybody gets game time because obviously now there are more T20S and less 50-over cricket. Whatever matches there are, it's important that players get enough game time to prepare for the World Cup," he added.
The 44-year-old pointed to India's past setbacks at major tournaments, saying last-minute changes have often affected the team's campaign. He stressed that the management needs to back its chosen players through both good and bad performances.
“Every time India has faltered is when they've made some massive changes at the last moment or in the tournament. So I think it's important that we stick to a team that we believe can lift the 2027 World Cup and stick by those guys whether they fail or succeed till that moment. Belief in the squad is very important,” he said.
‘Something we have done in the last two T20 World Cups’
Yuvraj also asked India to draw from the approach that helped them win consecutive T20 World Cup titles in 2024 and 2026, when a settled group was given opportunities to develop together.
The former all-rounder said India should first focus on securing a place in the semi-finals before turning their attention to the final two knockout games.
“That's something that we have also done in the last two T20 World Cups," Yuvraj said. "We also played the 50-over World Cup final [in 2023]. So we have had a lot of consistency in white-ball cricket,” he said.
“And that's what they need to do as well, to think of first qualifying for the semis and then going on to play in the last two [knockout matches]. I think that's a long way ahead. Focus should be on getting a squad ready, which is together and ready to fight in any situation," the star former all-rounder further went on to say.
Yuvraj also cited Australia’s success in World Cups, highlighting the presence of multiple match-winners who can change the course of a game on their own while also delivering collectively when the team is under pressure.
“That's the reason why Australia have been successful, because I believe that the Australian side, whenever they won World Cups, they've had a lot of match-winners who individually can pull off a game, and on a specific day, one does the job, and when they're all in trouble, they together pull it off,” he said.
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