‘You can’t go there half-baked’: Gautam Gambhir’s message to Hardik Pandya ahead of WC 2027

India’s Hardik Pandya, left, and head coach Gautam Gambhir (PTI Photo) Hardik Pandya’s workload and lack of recent cricket could become a key factor for India as they move towards the 2027 ODI World Cup, with head coach Gautam Gambhir stressing that the all-rounder needs plenty of game time ahead of the global tournament.India will begin their World Cup preparations with the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies, but will be without Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah is away on Asian Games duty while Pandya is still not fit to bowl 10 overs in ODIs.However, Gambhir made it clear that both remain central to India’s plans for the World Cup in South Africa.“Whether it’s Hardik, whether it’s Jasprit Bumrah, both of them will be hugely important for us in South Africa. Because when you talk about Jassim or Hardik, very few teams have that kind of player who can bowl 10 overs for you, plus bat at number six or number seven, with that impact,” Gambhir told JioStar ahead of the home season in India.The bigger concern for Pandya is match practice. After the IPL, the all-rounder hasn’t played a substantial amount of cricket and Gambhir believes that could reduce his playing time if he focuses primarily on the 50-over format.“Especially for Hardik because he needs game time as well. Because he hasn’t played much cricket after the IPL. So if his focus is only on having to play the 50-over format, then he might miss cricket,” Gambhir said.For India, Pandya’s preparation for the World Cup is not just about his fitness. Gambhir wants him to enter the tournament with enough competitive cricket behind him to ensure his rhythm and confidence.“Game time at the World Cup will be extremely, extremely important. You can’t go there half-baked. So you should have enough game time, your rhythm should be so good, because going to the World Cup, there are no ifs and buts,” he explained.The West Indies series will mark the start of India’s preparations for the 2027 FIFA World Cup, although Pandya and Bumrah will not be part of the opening phase. Their absence also comes at a time when India is managing an increasingly crowded international calendar.Gambhir hinted that workload management could become increasingly important, especially when players have to move between formats in quick succession.India’s upcoming multi-format tour of New Zealand is a case in point. The first Test in Wellington begins on November 19, just three days after the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand in Tauranga. The tour features 12 matches across formats.Gambhir suggested that some of the senior batsmen could therefore be rested from parts of the ODI series to properly prepare for the two-Test set.“Often in the build-up to a Test match, you’ll have to give your batsmen a break from the white ball to move into Test cricket because it’s easy to go from T20 to one-day cricket,” he said.With only two training days available before the Test series, players like captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal could potentially benefit from a break from some ODIs, while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy could also face workload considerations.Gambhir believes that the demands of modern international cricket will make it difficult to maintain the three-format players.“Look, ideally for any coach it’s very important that the more players play all three formats the better because continuity in international cricket is very important,” he said.“So whatever the coach wants, whatever the selectors want, whatever they do, you will have very few players in the three formats in the coming times because you will have to keep rotating your players, be it spin bowlers or fast bowlers,” he explained.For Gambhir, however, Test cricket remains the bedrock of a strong cricketing nation.“When you bring in new people, obviously (you) try to make them feel how important Test cricket is because I’m a big believer that a strong Test cricket nation is a strong cricket nation.“It’s not the other way around. I never believed that a strong T20 cricket nation is a strong cricket nation. So red-ball still remains our priority,” the coach stated.Gambhir’s own tenure has already brought great success with the white ball, with India winning the Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup during his two years in charge. However, the team also suffered Test series defeats against New Zealand and South Africa at home.Reflecting on his tenure, Gambhir acknowledged that the journey included both highs and lows.“I think I’ve had my own share of ups and downs, I think I’ve had my own share of failures and successes. But then again, I’ve always believed that when you take on that kind of responsibility, there’s always going to be ups and downs.”

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