Vaibhav Sooryavanshi In, Big Names Dropped From India's 2027 World Cup Team? Ex-CSK Star Drops "Bomb Squad"
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Robin Uthappa made a number of bold calls in his India squad for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
- Roddur Mookherjee
- Updated: August 21, 2026 07:25 am IST
- Robin Uthappa named his 15-man India team for the 2027 World Cup, calling it a "bomb squad"
- Uthappa dropped regulars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan, Harshit Rana and Washington Sundar
- Instead, he picked 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja
Should Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sanju Samson be in India's 2027 ODI World Cup squad? According to former India cricketer Robin Uthappa, the answer is yes. Uthappa named his ideal 15-man squad for India's World Cup campaign in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and did not hesitate to make some bold calls. Calling it a "bomb squad", Uthappa dropped some mainstays of India's current ODI team. In their place, he handed a call-up to 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, among others.
Among batters, Uthappa stuck with the current regulars of skipper Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. He also went with Rohit Sharma, whose future has come under question numerous times of late.
Uthappa did not include Yashasvi Jaiswal in his squad, instead going with his much younger Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate Sooryavanshi as the backup opener.
The 2007 T20 World Cup-winner also recalled some experienced heads in the form of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar, who enjoyed a superb IPL with 28 wickets, last played an ODI for India nearly five years ago.
In accommodating them, he left out the likes of Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana, who have been mainstays in the white-ball setup in recent times.
He also picked Sanju Samson over Ishan Kishan as his backup wicket-keeper batter, stating that Samson has the ability to play at the top and also as a finisher.
Uthappa went with Hardik Pandya in his 15-man team, but did not pick another fast-bowling all-rounder as a backup, instead choosing four frontline pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh.
"This is my World Cup team for 2027 in South Africa. Granted, we have a year to go, but I think if these 15 play over the next one year, it will be perfect prep. And this, I feel, is a bomb squad," Uthappa stated.
Robin Uthappa's 15-man India squad for 2027 World Cup: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.