New Delhi, March 10 Jasprit Bumrah, India's leading fast bowler, is likely to play more 50-over matches instead of T20I series over the next 18 months to ensure his preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup remain on track.
T20Is will be a low priority leading up to October-November 2027, despite a heavy schedule of bilateral series and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, where Suryakumar Yadav is expected to lead the side.
It is understood that Bumrah, like many senior Indian players, is very keen on participating in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which will be held in the T20 format, but ODIs will be his primary format until the 2027 World Cup.
India's ODI World Cup preparations will begin in earnest after a grueling two months of the Indian Premier League, where Bumrah is set to lead the Mumbai Indians' pace attack.
By the end of the IPL, it is understood that the national selection committee, the Centre of Excellence headed by VVS Laxman, and the team management represented by Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill will prepare the blueprint for the next phase, and the most important aspect will be Bumrah's workload management.
It is understood that the World Test Championships (WTC) matches are non-negotiable for the 32-year-old legend, and it is believed that his workload management will be somewhat similar to the 2023-2026 phase during which he didn't play a single ODI.
Since November 19, 2023, when the last ODI World Cup final was held against Australia, Bumrah has played 42 games, which included 21 Test matches and an equal number of T20Is.
"Obviously, Bumrah's fitness is always key to any of India's global campaigns, and hence the Indian team management will have to be very careful and prioritize 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 games, and one can't take chances," a BCCI source privy to the development told