Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill (PTI Image)
India captain Shubman Gill has thrown his weight behind the future of One-day Internationals, insisting that the 50-over format should remain the same while suggesting the return of the triangular or quadrangular series to make two-day cricket more attractive.Speaking on the eve of the first ODI against England at Edgbaston, Gill rejected suggestions of reducing the format to 40 overs and said the 50-over World Cup remains the pinnacle of ODI cricket.
“I think, for me, I grew up watching 50-over cricket a lot, and that has remained an integral part of my childhood, whenever I think about it. When I think of the World Cup, the first thing that comes to mind is the 50-over World Cup.
So, in that sense, for me, the most iconic World Cup, if anyone wants to win it, would be the World Cup 50 years later. So, I don’t think he should be over 40.”Rather than changing the format, Gill believes introducing multi-nation tournaments more regularly would make ODI cricket more attractive to both players and fans.“One thing is that we used to play the Triangular series a lot, and it was fun to watch. You know, India used to play in Australia and India, Australia and Sri Lanka,” he said.
So, I think we might have a chance to play a tri-series, because the two teams are playing in a different place. So, if we get a chance to play, it will be fun. You’re not playing with the same team. You’re playing with two different teams, in different places. So, I think, if we wanted to make this format interesting, instead of having a two-triple series, maybe a four-corner series, I don’t know, if we were doing something that would be interesting to play and watch.
“India begin the three-match ODI series looking to bounce back from a disappointing white-ball stretch that saw them lose 2-0 in Ireland before suffering a 4-0 defeat in the T20I series against England.Gill also congratulated the Indian women’s team after their historic 270-run win over England in the first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s.“I think it’s a very proud moment for us. Our women’s team won a historic match at Lord’s.
I think we all saw how special it was to play on this field. How special it is to play there and how special it is to win there. So, huge congratulations to them.”Looking to the future, Gill revealed that he has already started planning for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa through discussions with Virat Kohli about the ideal team composition for those conditions.“We (he and Kohli) were talking (at the nets) about the group. What group could be best for South Africa? Who are the players who may not be in the team now, but can help us in the future?”“Which bowlers are there? Which all-rounders are there? Which spinners are there? So, we’ve been talking about all that.”Jill also welcomed back
Jasprit Bumrah
who rejoins the ODI squad after taking a break to manage his workload after IPL 2026.“Bumrah is coming into the setup after a bit of time. Hopefully he has got a good number of overs leading up to this one-day series.“And we hope this one-day series goes well for him and hopefully we win the series and finish on a high,” he added.