India beat West Indies 2–1, and I should be happy. I watched the third ODI and I’m not, quite.
Some of it was great. KL Rahul finished on 129 not out off 87 balls, which also broke Rahul Dravid’s 24-year-old record for the highest ODI score by an Indian wicketkeeper against West Indies. Rohit made 92 off 85 and batted with a lot of confidence. I was glad to see both.
351/7 should win you a game. It didn’t. West Indies got there with 352/5 in 48.2 overs, Shai Hope unbeaten on 162, their highest successful chase in ODIs. Hope played a calm, controlled hundred, the kind that wins World Cup knockouts. And it came against us, at home, a year out from the World Cup.
The bowling let me down
My real disappointment was the bowling. Kuldeep apart, nobody looked like they knew how to stop the runs. Bumrah was away with the Asian Games squad, and without him the attack ran out of ideas. One match report says the length fell apart in the last 15 overs, with two bowlers going for 82 and 50 without a wicket between them.
West Indies needed more than seven an over for the whole chase, and at no point did it feel like we were making them uncomfortable.
We’re practising on roads
More than 2,000 runs were scored across the three games, and neither side was bowled out once. Wisden points out that 16 of India’s 30 home ODI innings since the 2023 World Cup have crossed 300.
Great to watch. But it’s like training for a trek on a treadmill. The next World Cup is in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, where I expect the ball to bounce and move a lot more. The batters will face a different test, and our bowlers rarely get to learn how to take wickets on a pitch that gives them nothing.
I’d rather India lose an ODI this year on a tough surface than win one by 100 runs on a road.
Shami and Bhuvi
Both deserve a proper look before anyone writes them off.
Shami hasn’t played for India since the 2025 Champions Trophy final. This season he’s taken wickets in every domestic format, with a career-best 8/90 in the Ranji Trophy. Reports say the selectors are finding him hard to ignore, though it isn’t clear whether that’s for Tests only. Give him a few ODIs. Check his pace, his new-ball spell, whether he can bowl ten overs and how he pulls up the next morning. You can’t judge any of that from a distance.
Bhuvneshwar is 36 and says he’s “absolutely ready” if the call comes. He took 28 wickets for RCB in the IPL this year at under eight an over, and Ashwin, Shastri and Dinesh Karthik have all backed him. He was never quick. He wins with swing, control and a feel for how to build a spell, and none of that goes out of date. Whether his body can handle a long tournament is something I’d rather find out now than in October 2027.
Building for 2027 doesn’t mean going young
Building for 2027 should mean finding the best fifteen players for October 2027. Age can be part of that, but it shouldn’t be the plan. Australia’s coach has said they’re planning to have Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood there, even though they’re four years older and harder to manage.
Time runs out faster than it looks. Rotate through twenty-five players and we could play every game and still not know our XI.
My version: keep the core of Gill, Rohit, Kohli, Rahul, Jadeja, Kuldeep and Bumrah. Then let Shami, Bhuvneshwar, Siraj and Hardik, if he’s fit, compete with the younger group of Prasidh, Gurnoor, Nitish, Auqib, Jaiswal, Ruturaj and Jurel. Nobody gets a spot by default.
On pitches, I’d want a mix. A few 330-plus surfaces for big chases, a few 240 to 270 grinders for winning ugly, and ideally a series in South Africa itself. The BCCI is reportedly already talking to Cricket South Africa about a four to six match series, though it’s early days and nothing is confirmed.
What worries me most
We have the talent. What I can’t see is a bowling plan. Who partners Bumrah, who bowls the last ten overs, and what happens if Bumrah has an off day or gets hurt? Right now I can’t answer any of that.
You can score 330 with this batting. If the other side can chase 352, it still won’t be enough in a World Cup.
Bumrah should be the centrepiece of the bowling plan, not all of it. Experience and youth both belong in it, and there’s still time to work out the mix.
Plan for the bounce.
Sources
Wisden: four key takeaways from India’s 2–1 win
The SportsTak: third ODI report
BCCI: India squad for the West Indies series
Khel Now: Mohammed Shami’s comeback
Yahoo Sports: Bhuvneshwar “absolutely ready”
ICC: Australia back pace trio for 2027
CricTracker: BCCI explores a South Africa ODI series