CHENNAI: When India sit down to whittle down the long list of names for the 2027 edition of the World Cup, they will have a fixed number of slots under the heading marked pacers. Only one of them, Jasprit Bumrah, is a lock. He remains a cheat code in any format and will be the first name on the team sheet.
For all the others in contention, there will be auditions and dress rehearsals. Some may be put through repeat auditions for the express purpose of confirming why they have to be on the flight or why they ought to be on the sofas at home. You can kind of argue that for an event beginning in the fag end of 2027, it’s a tad too early to begin preparations and you may well be right. But it’s a format no side plays too much so the selectors and the leadership group will be watching whenever there’s an opportunity to watch and learn more.
It’s kind of why this three-match ODI series against South Africa is a tantalising prospect for the ‘other’ pacers to stake a claim. Sure, conditions in Ranchi, Raipur and Visakhapatnam will be vastly different from Windhoek, Harare and Durban but this series will provide some much needed information.
For one, it has all of Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh available and in the squad. Apart from Mohammed Siraj, that’s India’s five leading pacers in this format right now. Assuming it’s going to be 15-man World Cup, at least one of the above-mentioned four will miss the bus.
In a series without Bumrah and sans Siraj, all of Krishna, Singh and Rana can show what they can do. Rana, who took the new ball at Ranchi, kind of did with an opening burst as he moved the ball both ways. He also cranked up the pace beyond the 140 kph mark in his opening spell. He can be a bit wayward at times but the management likes him. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the current management will stay on till that World Cup but right now, Rana is more in than out. He also provides some significant lower order muscle in a team that’s so sorely lacking in this department.
“With the new ball, I am practicing a lot with Morne (Morkel) and I keep talking to Arshdeep a lot,” he said on Tuesday. “I feel that Arshdeep has a lot of experience and he keeps helping and guiding me during practice.” With that new ball on Sunday, he removed both Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock because of movement, always a handy currency to have up top.
But Rana cannot afford to be complacent because Singh is a more natural swing bowler with the new ball. In fact, he has been very successful in South Africa, picking up 10 wickets across three games in a series in 2023. Granted, both sides were different but he swung it both ways and picked a handful of wickets with the new ball. There is also a factor that puts Singh in an enviable position thanks to him being a left-armer. Most elite white ball sides have a left-arm seamer and India may be compelled to pick him because of the variety and uniqueness he has.
It’s also why Krishna will feel he’s a dead cert to be on the flight. Among the country’s frontline seamers, he’s the only capable of hitting that hard length necessary in a country like South Africa. That he can crank it up to beyond 140 kph also helps. With his height and release point, he can also generate awkward bounce, very helpful on the trampoline like pitches likely to be on offer across the three countries in 2027.
And, then, there’s Siraj. He may be missing from these games but he clearly remains in India’s 50-over plans. He featured in the three ODIs in South Africa but has been rested for these games keeping in mind workload management.
Four bowlers but only three slots on offer likely. The race to fill those three slots is just beginning and it will be a subplot to follow over the next 22 months or so.
