Inside India’s ODI dressing room: Why Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill need to act ahead of 2027 World Cup

Indian captain Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir (Getty Images) Mohali: When the Indian ODI team meets here in Mohali on Wednesday, it will be the formal start 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 team management try to get the combinations right, the first thing that needs to be addressed is the dynamic in the dressing room. Ever since Shubman Gill took over as full-time ODI captain last October, India have lost both the ODI series he has 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 with a neck injury. With Gill’s two predecessors, Rohit and Virat Kohli, battling doubts over their ability to last another 17 months until the World Cup, there is a sense of unease in fortifying the core. Head coach Gautam Gambhir is yet to change his authority in the ODI format. In the two years he has been in charge, he has primarily owned the dressing rooms in T20Is and Tests. Chest pounding results in the T20 format can be seen. The team that won the T20 World Cup in March had Gambhir’s stamp on it. It helped that chief selector Ajit Agarkar was on the same page. Also, the test team is developing the brand a year after it transitioned exactly one year ago in England. The difference between the ODI team and the remaining two teams is in dealing with mega stars like Rohit and Kohli. Pandya, it is known, also needs to prove his utility as a bowler in the format. The selector has been consistent in his merciless handling of the ax in the last year. The ODI format is where the indecisiveness occurred. Sources told TOI that the team management and some senior players need to be brought on the same page. It is also learned that several senior players have been in constant touch with the powers that be in the BCCI to get clarity on the plans till 2027. Kohli, who will turn 38 in November, will not be part of the Afghanistan series due to a hamstring injury. But recently he has made it very clear that he does not want to be in an environment where he is made to prove his worth. Rohit, now 39 years old, strongly believes that he can be better than others in 2023. While Kohli has been in royal form since the November series in South Africa, Rohit’s approach at the top of the order has been markedly different since he led India to the ICC Champions Trophy in March 2025. Gill has averaged under 30 in the six ODIs he has captained. “With such big players in the team, Gill has to have a stronger say in the dressing room. Gambhir has not been involved in the planning as much as he did in the other two formats. He is letting things flow for now,” said a BCCI source. “Now that the focus has shifted to the ODI World Cup build-up, Gambhir and Gill can be expected to take the lead and firmly communicate their ideas in the dressing room. It is important that the senior players who have served India for so many years are told what role the team expects of them and the plan to build on in the next 16 months,” the source added.

Do you believe Shubman Gill is the right choice for ODI captain?

Gill enjoyed a stellar start to his career as a Test captain, leading a host of youngsters after veterans like Rohit, Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin left the format. It is up to him and Gambhir to get the ODI dressing room soon.