Hanuma Vihari picks India’s playing 11 for 2027 ODI World Cup; recalls 2 players from RCB’s winning side

India batter Hanuma Vihari suggested a strong and experienced playing XI that the Men in Blue should go with at the 2027 ODI World Cup. The marquee tournament is set to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Hanuma Vihari recalled two experienced stars from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) 2025 and 2026 IPL-winning squad – Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya.

He picked captain Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul as his top five batters. For the all-rounders, Hanuma Vihari included Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Krunal, followed by Bhuvneshwar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj as the three frontline pacers. Vihari reckoned that the XI had the required experience and six solid bowling options.

“Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. This will be my playing XI for the World Cup. They have the experience and will definitely challenge any team. If you have these six bowling options, I think any captain will be happy. You can bowl any bowler at any time. They are very smart bowlers. If you have such a bowling attack, even Hardik can take wickets in the middle overs,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

While India are currently playing Washington Sundar, Hanuma Vihari suggested Krunal be picked instead of him. He expressed that the RCB all-rounder would be more effective than Sundar, both with bat and ball, adding that Krunal could play the role of a finisher as well as bat at the top in case of a collapse, just as he did for RCB.

“Sundar does not give a lot of overs and captain Shubman Gill has also not trusted him enough. So I have a name in mind. If Ravindra Jadeja is your second all-rounder, then we don’t need him as a spinner. If not, then Krunal Pandya is your go-to man. Why Krunal? Because he is doing very well with the bat as well. More than Sundar, Krunal can be effective in terms of bowling and also batting. The batting order is fixed till number five. At six you can have Hardik, Axar at seven, and Krunal at eight. You can expect him to do the same thing he did for RCB. If wickets fall early, you can send him at five as well and he can do the finishing role well too,” Hanuma Vihari added.

Over the last two IPL seasons, Krunal has picked up 31 wickets from as many games at an average of 25.94 and an economy rate of 8.33. With the bat, he made 335 runs from 16 innings at a strike rate of 139 with two half-centuries.

Hanuma Vihari backs Bhuvneshwar Kumar to make comeback ahead of 2027 World Cup

Hanuma Vihari strongly advocated for Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s comeback into the ODI setup for the 2027 World Cup. He expressed that the pacer’s experience would be invaluable and he could be a great asset with his skills in South Africa.

Vihari added that the RCB pacer was fit enough to bowl ten overs and also suggested a plan to manage his workload at the World Cup.

“You may ask where Bhuvi came from. But to win the World Cup, you need to have experience. Imagine Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah with the new ball. Leave Shami aside because he is not being considered. But at least consider Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He can get the swing in South African conditions, has the experience, and his pace has improved. We have seen what he has done in the IPL. He has played domestic and List A as well and has the fitness to bowl ten overs. At least it would be enough to play against the main teams. There will be some teams in the league stage against whom you don’t need to play him, so workload management can also happen,” he explained.

Hanuma Vihari suggested that Bhuvneshwar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj could form a brilliant pace trio and take care of the powerplay overs. With these three, alongside Hardik, Axar, and another all-rounder, he reckoned that it could be a solid bowling attack.

“Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar can take the new ball. They can bowl the first six-seven overs and then Siraj can be the first change. The powerplay bowling will be set. In the middle overs, if Hardik is fit, he walks in straightaway. Nitish Kumar Reddy can be the backup. Then you have Axar Patel and then another all-rounder.”

In the last two IPL seasons for RCB, Bhuvneshwar played a key role, bagging 45 wickets from 30 games at an average of 21.87 and an economy rate of 8.56. He last played an ODI for India in 2022 and has been away from the setup ever since.