Overview
- On Saturday, June 20, former India coach WV Raman told PTI that Hardik Pandya’s ability to bowl his full 10‑over quota when fit would provide India invaluable flexibility at the 2027 World Cup.
- Raman noted Pandya was initially named in India’s ODI squad for the Afghanistan series but was withdrawn late because of injury, and he said recurring fitness concerns will determine how India use him going forward.
- Raman urged selectors to adopt an experimental approach over the next 12 to 15 months and use about 15 remaining ODIs to test combinations, finalise roles and build bench depth before the South Africa tournament.
- He listed India’s pace resources—Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and emerging fast bowlers such as Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav and Harshit Rana—and called that depth a positive for building a World Cup attack.
- Raman also said decisions on veterans like Rohit Sharma should be left to team management and he backed Shubman Gill’s ongoing development as captain, stressing that clearer role definitions and workload management will affect players’ careers and India’s knockout prospects.