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Former India captain Anil Kumble has issued a clarion call for tough decisions in India’s white-ball setup following the conclusion of the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025.
Anil Kumble calls for tough decisions and transition
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo ‘s Matchday show, Kumble emphasized that this tournament presents a critical juncture for head coach Gautam Gambhir and the entire team, as they must begin transitioning from legacy players to a younger, more dynamic squad ahead of the ODI World Cup 2027. According to Kumble, irrespective of how the current tournament unfolds, decisive measures are needed now to map out the future of India’s limited-overs cricket.
He pointed out that the tournament could very well determine which senior players remain in the setup and which new talents need to be integrated. Kumble’s remarks highlight the urgency of preparing a team that is not only competitive in the present but also built to sustain long-term success in a rapidly evolving cricket landscape, where opportunities in ODIs have dwindled in favor of the T20 format.
“You could say this is a very important tournament for a coach who has to make those tough calls in terms of transitioning from the legacy players to the others. But that’s the job of the coach, to make those hard decisions. This tournament could determine where those seniors would go, and where India would look at making those changes. Win or lose, you need these tough calls to be made at the earliest. You need to start looking ahead in white-ball cricket, especially at the 2027 World Cup,” Kumble said.
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Future ODI captain of India after Rohit Sharma
Kumble has been vocal about the need to make hard choices when it comes to captaincy in India’s white-ball cricket, and his current stance is clear: he believed that Jasprit Bumrah is the natural and automatic choice for the ODI captaincy role over Shubman Gill, at least for the time being after Rohit Sharma. While Gill, who currently serves as vice-captain in the ongoing Champions Trophy, has already demonstrated leadership potential – having captained the T20I series in Zimbabwe in 2024 – Bumrah’s performances in Test matches, notably leading in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series in Australia and in a bilateral series against Ireland in 2023, showcase a temperament and tactical acumen that Kumble finds indispensable.
Kumble argued that the scarcity of ODI fixtures since 2023, with most focus on the T20 format where Suryakumar Yadav has been entrusted with captaincy, further underlines the need to preserve Bumrah’s value in limited-overs cricket. By positioning Bumrah as the future leader, the team can start laying down the foundation for a new era in ODI cricket – one that is built on aggressive play, resilience, and strategic planning.
“Shubman is already in the leadership group, and eventually he will get to that captaincy. Now whether it will be immediately after Rohit leaves one-day cricket, or else Bumrah will come in, which is the automatic choice both for Test match cricket and the ODI format, because you hardly play ODIs now,” the former Indian captain added.
“If you look at white-ball cricket, although the next World Cup is 2027, in between 2023 and now, we have hardly played one-day cricket. It’s mostly been T20 format, where Suryakumar Yadav is already the captain. So, when you look at ODI format, to sort of look at Bumrah, and preserve him because he is very valuable, and try to utilize him for important tournaments. So, I think Bumrah will become the natural choice, but Shubman won’t be far behind,” Kumble concluded.
