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India Names Shubman Gill as New ODI Captain Ahead of World Cup 2027

Batter playing a shot during cricket match
Cricket

Shubman Gill will walk out as India’s new ODI captain as the team quietly begins its long build-up to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, and the selectors have wasted no time in refreshing the faces around him.

The headline from the squad sheet is a breakthrough for pacer Auqib Nabi. After travelling with the Test side to Sri Lanka in August without getting a debut, he now steps into the ODI arena for the first time. Alongside him, batter Naman Dhir also receives a maiden ODI call-up, another nod to India’s willingness to invest early in fresh batting options.

There is experience returning around the new blood. Ruturaj Gaikwad, absent from the ODI set-up since the home series against South Africa last year, is back in the frame. So is Ravindra Jadeja, whose last ODI appearance came in the series against New Zealand in January. Both add a layer of stability and versatility to a squad that clearly has one eye on the next global tournament cycle, not just the next series.

Asian Games shake-up

The ripple effects of selection have been felt in the T20I and Asian Games squad as well. Varun Chakravarthy, originally set to feature, has been ruled out with a side strain, forcing a late change. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had been named for the Asian Games, has been pulled out of that campaign and will instead link up with the ODI squad for the series against West Indies.

That decision opens the door for Vipraj Nigam, who steps into the Asian Games group as Reddy’s replacement and now finds himself thrust into a high-profile multi-sport event at short notice.

India Squad for T20I v Japan and Asian Games:

  • Shreyas Iyer (c)
  • Tilak Varma
  • Ravi Bishnoi
  • Jasprit Bumrah
  • Varun Chakravarthy
  • Shivam Dube
  • Ishan Kishan (wk)
  • Vipraj Nigam
  • Axar Patel
  • Sanju Samson (wk)
  • Abhishek Sharma
  • Arshdeep Singh
  • Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
  • Washington Sundar
  • Yash Thakur

Two squads, one message: India are already plotting the road to 2027, and the auditions have begun.

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