The countdown to the 2027 ODI World Cup is on as Team India begins preparations for the tournament, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The tournament in October-November 2027 will be a test for Gautam Gambhir’s regime as India’s head coach as he tries to pocket another ICC trophy. However, reflecting on India’s 2023 campaign where the Men in Blue finished runners-up, Gambhir pointed out that there is still unfinished business.
Gambhir opens on India’s Unfinished business
“There’s always unfinished business, because when you go into the World Cup, you want to go out there and win it. And whether we win it in 2027, hopefully we do, but again, obviously those heartbreaks that happened in 2023, hopefully we can try and probably go one step ahead of that. And that is going to be the focus. And more importantly, I think I’ve always believed in one thing: that you should not be scared of losing the game,” Gambhir said while speaking to JioStar ahead of India’s home season opener against the West Indies.
“If you’re scared of losing the game, you will never give yourself the best chance to win the game. And that was the message before the T20 World Cup as well, and that is going to be the same message going into the 2027 World Cup,” Gambhir added.
What did Gambhir say about Shubman Gill?
The Indian gaffer also spoke on Shubman Gill’s quality as a leader who has been influential in the team’s rise. Gill is expected to lead the Indian team in the 2027 ODI World Cup as the roadmap has already been drawn. According to Gambhir, Gill, as a skipper, has ticked a lot of boxes as he looks to add a trophy to his cabinet with the captain’s armband.
“Gill is very fortunate that he’s got the likes of Rohit and Virat to help him on the field and off the field as well. And then, more importantly, I think that calmness- I think keeping the emotions aside, because when you’re young, sometimes you can actually get dragged into the emotions as well. And my belief is, taking the tough decisions as well.
“So as a coach, when you see a young captain doing all those things, he puts in the hard yards, he works hard on his fitness, he leads by example, not only by runs. Because for a coach, it is not only about the number of runs you score, because failure will happen to one or the other. You will fail at some point.
“But if you work on your fitness, if you’re committed when you are training, in training, in batting, in skills, in everything, if you’re ticking those boxes, you’re saying the right things, what could be better than that for any coach? So I feel that he has done all the right things. Hopefully he’ll get the results as well because he has had a bit of a tough time in One Day cricket. But I am sure, I think things will turn around because he has done all the right things,” Gambhir said.
India will kick-start their three-match ODI campaign on Sunday (Sep 27) when they face the West Indies in the season opener in Trivandrum.