India pacer Jasprit Bumrah is expected to change course and do so rather quickly, keeping the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind.
Jasprit Bumrah is expected to change course and do so rather quickly. The Indian pacer, fresh off winning his second T20 World Cup, is now shifting his focus to the next big target – the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. As part of that plan, Bumrah is expected to play more ODIs than T20Is over the next 18 months. A report by Press Trust of India suggests that, as part of his workload management, India’s pace spearhead will cut down on T20Is in the foreseeable future.
The report also states that Bumrah is keen on playing at the Los Angeles Olympic Games, though that remains a longer-term goal. For now, once the IPL 2026 ends, preparations for the 50-overs World Cup will be in full swing, and Bumrah, an integral part of India’s plans for the showpiece ICC event, will remain razor-sharp in his focus. Besides ODIs, Bumrah also remains crucial to India in the red-ball format, and with the team eyeing the ICC World Test Championship final, the pacer is expected to divide his attention between Tests and ODIs.
“Obviously, Bumrah's fitness, as always, is key to any of India's global campaign, and hence the Indian team management will have to be very careful and prioritise the formats. Keep Test cricket aside, which he will obviously play, but in the 50-over World Cup cycle, he will concentrate more on ODIs. There will be around 30-35 odd games, and one can't take chances,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
Given Bumrah’s history of injuries, it’s imminent that the pacer takes this approach. In the last four overs, Bumrah has missed out on two big ICC events – the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and last year’s Champions Trophy – due to career-threatening back injuries. Bumrah, 10 years into his international career, has yet to win the ODI World Cup or the World Test Championship, despite making the finals of both.
As Bumrah’s legend grows – he finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets – the pacer and the BCCI itself know that he must be preserved as much as possible. Indian cricket has been blessed with several great fast bowlers – Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, and Ishant Sharma – but few have quite matched Bumrah’s genius. The decision-makers have used him judiciously in the past as well. He missed two of the five Tests India played in England last year, with a similar workload-management approach expected to continue.