Mohali: When India's ODI team assembles here in Mohali on Wednesday, it will mark the formal onset of their preparations for the ODI World Cup in South Africa in October-November 2027. Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are expected to be declared fit for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, starting in Dharamshala on Saturday.
Even as the selectors and the team management attempt to finalize the right combinations, the first issue that needs to be addressed is the dynamics in the dressing room. Since Shubman Gill took over as full-time ODI captain last October, India has lost both ODI series he played — in Australia and against New Zealand at home. The only series India won was against South Africa at home, when Gill was ruled out due to a neck injury.
With Gill's two predecessors, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, facing doubts over their ability to last another 17 months until the World Cup, there is a sense of unease in firming up a core group. Head coach Gautam Gambhir is yet to assert his authority in the ODI format. Over the two years he has been in charge, he has primarily owned the dressing rooms in T20Is and Tests. The chest-thumping results in the T20 format are evident. The T20 World Cup-winning team in March had Gambhir's stamp all over it, and it helped that chief selector Ajit Agarkar was on the same page. The Test team is also developing a brand a year after it went into transition in England exactly a year ago.
The difference between the ODI team and the other two formats lies in dealing with mega stars like Rohit and Kohli. Pandya, it is learned, also has to prove his utility as a bowler in this format. The selectors have been consistent in ruthlessly wielding the axe over the last year, but the ODI format is where indecision has set in.
Sources told TOI that the team management and some senior players need to be brought on the same page. It has also been learned that a few senior players have been in constant touch with the power forces in BCCI to get clarity about the plans going into 2027. Kohli, about to turn 38 in November, will not be part of the Afghanistan series due to a hamstring injury. However, he recently made it very clear that he does not want to be in an environment where he is made to prove his value. Rohit, now 39, firmly believes he can go one better than finishing runners-up in 2023. While Kohli has been in regal form since the South Africa series in November, Rohit's approach at the top of the order has been significantly different since he led India to the ICC Champions Trophy title in March 2025.
Gill averaged under 30 in the six ODIs he captained. "With such big players in the team, Gill needs to have a stronger say in the dressing room. Gambhir hasn't got involved in the planning as intently as he has done in the other two formats. So far, he has let things take their course," a BCCI source said. "Now that the focus has shifted to preparation for the ODI World Cup, one may expect Gambhir and Gill to take charge and firmly communicate their ideas in the dressing room. It's important that the senior players, who have served India with distinction for so many years, are conveyed what role the team expects them to play and the plan for the buildup over the next 16 months," the source added.
Gill has enjoyed a stellar start to his Test captaincy career, where he led a bunch of young players after veterans like Rohit, Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin retired from the format. It is up to him and Gambhir how soon they can get the ODI dressing room aligned.
