Cricket

“ODI World Cup is two years away from now” - Gautam Gambhir shuts down all ODI WC talks

India coach Gautam Gambhir shut down 2027 World Cup discussions, stating the tournament is "two years away" and players must "stay in the present." He praised centurions Gaikwad and Jaiswal, indicating no one has a guaranteed spot for the 2027 World Cup.

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Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has stated that it’s important to stay in the present and not think too much about the ICC ODI World Cup 2027, which is two years away from now, when asked if Rutraj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s century performances would secure their spots in the mega event.

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Speaking in the post-match press conference, Gambhir heaped praise on Gaikwad and Jaiswal for their exceptional performances in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, adding that the duo has a massive future ahead.

While Gaikwad smacked a 105-run in the second ODI, in Raipur, Jaiswal racked up an unbeaten 116-run knock in the series-decider in Visakhapatnam. Notably, India bagged a comfortable 2-1 series win in the ODI series. 

"Look, first we have got to realise that ODI World Cup is two years away from now. The most important think is to stay in the present," he said at the press conference 

"It's also important that young boys coming into the set-up are grabbing their opportunities. Someone like Ruturaj Gaikwad, who batted out of position. He is a quality player, we all know. We wanted to give him an opportunity in this series for the kind of form he was in with India A. He actually grabbed that opportunity with both hands, getting a hundred in the second game, when we were under pressure. We were 40 for 2 and then getting that kind of hundred was proper quality," he added.

"Yashasvi as well. We have seen how much quality he has. What he does in Test cricket. Obviously, it just the start of his career, especially in white-ball cricket. Hopefully, he has a massive future ahead, and so is the case with Ruturaj," he concluded.

With the ODI series coming to an end, India will next take on South Africa in the five-match T20I series, starting on Tuesday, December 9.

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