Gambhir prioritises player fitness for ICC CWC27

With just over a year to go until the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, India head coach Gautam Gambhir is targeting a fully fit squad for the tournament in South Africa.

"You can't go into a World Cup half-cooked," Gambhir said in an interview on JioHotstar.

"Whether it's Hardik (Pandya), whether it's Jasprit Bumrah, they are going to be extremely important for us in (South) Africa."

Hardik has not been part of the ODI squad since last year's ICC Men's Champions Trophy, having also been ruled out of the previous 50-over World Cup due to injury.

The all-rounder is set to miss the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies, though he is expected to return to the India A side during their one-day series against Australia in Puducherry.

"Very few teams have players (like Hardik) who can bowl ten overs and give you runs from No. 6 or No. 7, that too with such impact," Gambhir said.

"So the focus for us - especially for Hardik, who needs game time as well; he hasn't played a lot of cricket since the IPL - if we talk about 50-over cricket, if we want to play him, he might be short of cricket.

"So you must have enough game time and your rhythm should be good enough, because there are no ifs and buts when it comes to a World Cup. There are no chances to make mistakes."

Gambhir also highlighted the need to manage the workload of Jasprit Bumrah, who is currently with the India squad for the ongoing Asian Games in Japan.

"The same is with Jassi as well. With him, too, the thought process is how much one-day cricket we can make him play. 

"Plus Test cricket is equally important. So it is going to be critical to figure out how much workload and game time is ideal."