The auditions for next year’s ODI World Cup are underway. A large pool of players is being developed by the selectors, consisting of first-choice players as well as back-ups. Eventually, only 15 players will be able to fly to Africa to take part in the World Cup, and the competition is intense. Many players are fighting for a single spot.
Only a handful of players are automatic picks, and even that depends on their fitness. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer fall into that category. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the senior statemen, but the World Cup is still about 15 months away. As things stand, KL Rahul is the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in the team. The slot for the second wicketkeeper-batter is still up for grabs. The same applies to the spin-bowling all-rounder position.
Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel were already in contention, and now Harsh Dubey has emerged as another candidate who could push the senior pros for a place in the World Cup squad.
Coming to the fast bowlers, India have a problem of plenty. One pattern that has been evident in ODI squad selections is the influx of tall pacers. The most recent example is Gurnoor Brar, who made his debut in Dharamsala against Afghanistan. Given the conditions in South Africa, where most of the World Cup matches will be played, selections are being made with those conditions in mind.
Again, the likes of Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will pick themselves if they remain fit. With his happy knack of taking wickets and his ability to contribute with the bat, Harshit Rana also looks certain to make the cut.
The question now revolves around the fourth seam-bowling option. With the conditions in mind, the World Cup squad is likely to be seam-heavy. Irrespective of whether India go with only Hardik Pandya (if fit) or both him and Nitish Kumar Reddy, a fourth frontline seamer is likely to be selected. So what are the options? It appears to be a three-way battle between Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Arshdeep Singh.
All three are quality options, but if it comes down to picking only one, it should be Arshdeep. His left-arm angle brings variety to the bowling attack. He also now has enough experience of playing in ICC events. He is a proven performer for India in T20Is and a genuine wicket-taker with the ability to bowl game-changing spells.
Yes, of late the radar has been slightly off, and he has struggled to control his lines. However, he is a quick learner, as was evident in the first ODI against Afghanistan. The bowler who had an underwhelming IPL campaign looked like a completely different player in an India shirt. That has often been the case with Arshdeep. It does not matter how he performs in the IPL; whenever he has turned up for India, he has delivered.
Even the great Zaheer Khan has backed Arshdeep to play the next year’s World Cup.
“For me the first two pacers who should be there for the World Cup are Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh,” the former left-arm pacer said while speaking to Cricbuzz in December 2025.
His record in multi-team tournaments speaks volumes for his ability. In 16 matches, he has taken 27 wickets, which is a sufficiently large sample size to assess a player at a time when ODI cricket is not played regularly. Arshdeep has already shown that South African conditions bring out the best in him. During India’s previous ODI tour of the rainbow nation, he spearheaded an inexperienced pace unit and ended the series as its highest wicket-taker, claiming 10 wickets in three matches. His match-winning five-for during that tour remains the standout performance of his ODI career.
A left-arm pacer is always a luxury and a valuable option to have. India have Arshdeep. The key is to give him enough matches in the lead-up to the World Cup while also managing his workload effectively.
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