The 2027 ODI World Cup will officially kick off with India taking on Australia. Before the marquee event in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, thefocus will be on the Indian team combination.
Former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik named his four India pacers for the event. The 41-year-old named jasprit bumrah to lead the attack alongside Mohammed SirajArshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana.
He left out the likes of Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna, along with veteran duo Mohammed Shami and
Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Karthik, speaking on his Instagram handle, said, “Selectors will closely look at Prasidh. In the case of Gurnoor, he has shown talent, but has proved expensive. Other two names who deserve to be discussed are Shami and Kumar.”
“Shami has been really good and shown consistency. Bhuvi is a showstopper and keeps getting better with age, but it is highly doubtful if the Indian team management will go back to those two, even with Agarkar now out of the selection committee.”
Mohammed Shami was the leading wicket-taker in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The right-arm seamer took 24 wickets from seven games with three fifers, including 7/57 in the semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai. The veteran star also did well in the 2025 Champions Trophy, claiming nine wickets.
Bhuvneshwar did well for RCB in the past two years and took 28 wickets during the IPL 2026 season.
Arshdeep Singh ahead of Prasidh
Karthik also revealed why Arshdeep Singh is ahead of Krishna for the 2027 ODI WC selection. “Pacers who would be definite picks for the next World Cup are Bumrah, Siraj, and Rana. Toss will be between Singh and Prasidh, but I feel Arshdeep, with his left-arm seam option, brings a great dynamic in South African conditions, as there will be some help for the pacers early in the summer,‘ he said.
“In the recent series against West Indies, the bowling has been under the scanner. They gave away over 1000 runs in the three games. The captain and head coach didn’t have their first-choice bowlers for a while now. Jasprit hasn’t played for a while. Hardik and Harshit are injured, which is why this bowling unit went for so many runs.“