The ICC ODI World Cup 2027 is expected to be held in South Africa, and with less than a year remaining, India's team management faces important selection decisions. Bilateral series in the months ahead offer a valuable window to give certain players the ODI exposure they require.
Finding the right combination early will allow India to build continuity and assess each player's suitability for South African conditions. Three cricketers in particular deserve more regular ODI opportunities between now and the tournament.
Here are the 3 Indian cricketers who should play ODIs more often:
3. Axar Patel
Axar Patel has been among India's more consistent performers when given the chance in ODIs. In 74 matches, he has scored 918 runs at an average of 23.53 and taken 75 wickets, demonstrating his value across both departments.
His most recent ODI appearance came on July 14, 2026, against England, when he produced one of the standout individual performances of the series. He scored an unbeaten 57 off 52 balls and took 4/62, earning the Player of the Match award as India won by 6 wickets with 28 balls remaining. That display made him the third Indian in ODI history to score a half-century and take four wickets in the same match against England, joining Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya.
He also became the fourth Indian to win a Player of the Match award against England across all three formats, after Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav. India's ODI setup currently places Axar ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in the spin-bowling all-rounder role, and consistent game time would help cement that pecking order before the World Cup.
2. Nitish Kumar Reddy
Nitish Kumar Reddy made his ODI debut on October 19, 2025, against Australia and has featured in only eight matches to date. In those eight games, he scored 109 runs at an average of 27.25, including a top score of 53.
Nitish is viewed as a pace-bowling all-rounder option who could be relevant for South African conditions, where seam and bounce are factors. At just 23 years old, he has already shown promise in Test cricket, scoring 396 runs in 10 matches including a century, and taking 8 wickets. However, eight ODIs are far too small a sample to judge his suitability for the format. India need to give him a sustained run in bilateral series so that selectors can make an informed decision about his World Cup prospects.
1. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah is India's premier fast bowler across formats, and his fitness and rhythm heading into the 2027 World Cup will be a central concern for the team management. Workload management has been a consistent theme around his scheduling, given the demands placed on him in Test and T20 cricket.
With the World Cup in South Africa approaching, it becomes important that Bumrah features in selected ODI series rather than being rested from the format entirely. Giving him targeted ODI appearances will help him maintain match sharpness and build readiness for the tournament. Balancing his rest periods with sufficient competitive game time in the 50-over format is a challenge India's management must plan for carefully in the months ahead.
