Shubman Gill took over the ODI captaincy from Rohit Sharma after the BCCI announced India’s squad for the white-ball tour to Australia. Gill will look to build the team for the ODI World Cup 2027. Here is how many matches Gill will get ahead of the World Cup.
Shubman Gill was announced as India’s new ODI captain as the change of the guard took place in the 50-over setup, with Rohit Sharma getting replaced. India are set to face Australia in a three-match ODI series, for which both Sharma and Virat Kohli have been called into the team, but just as pure batters.
Gill has another format’s responsibility now as he is also the Test captain, having taken over from Sharma post his retirement from the format. Speaking during a press conference shortly after the ODI and T20I squads for the away Australia series came out, chief selector Ajit Agarkar reasoned that appointing Gill as captain now is crucial, considering the management needs to give him time to get used to the role in the 50-over format.
“Obviously, at some stage you’ve got to start looking at where the next World Cup is,” Agarkar said during a media briefing in Ahmedabad. “It’s [ODIs] also a format which is played the least now, so you don’t get that many games to actually give the next guy, or if there is going to be another guy, that much time to prepare himself or plan.
“We are two years away still, might look like a long time, but we don’t quite know how many one-day games we might play. Closer to the World Cup we might end up playing a little bit more than what we have, but the last one-day game we played was what, 8th or 9th March in the Champions Trophy, and the next one we play is on October 19th, so it is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket at the moment.”
The chief selector also stated, “It is very difficult to have three different captains for three formats, in terms of not just selectors but more importantly even for the coach, to plan with three different people is never easy.”
Meanwhile, Gill will now be central to India’s planning for the ODI World Cup 2027, considering if he stays the captain and the selectors don’t change their mood, handing someone else the job.
How many matches can Gill lead India in ahead of the ODI World Cup 2027?
India are scheduled to play 27 ODIs from their three-match Australia series till the start of the ODI World Cup in 2027.
After touring Australia for the white-ball tour, which also includes five T20Is, the Men in Blue will host South Africa in November-December and New Zealand in January for two series of three matches each.
India will then host Afghanistan in June 2026 for three ODIs before travelling to England for the same number of matches in July. The Men in Blue will then return home to host West Indies for three ODIs in September-October, New Zealand for three as well in October-November 2026, before lastly hosting Sri Lanka in a home series in December 2026.
Meanwhile, India will also travel to Bangladesh for a white-ball series in September 2026, which includes three ODIs. The series was supposed to take place in August 2025, but was rescheduled to the next year.
India’s ODI schedule ahead of ODI World Cup 2027:
October-November 2025 – Tour of Australia (Away)
November-December 2025 – South Africa ODI Series (Home)
January 2026 – New Zealand ODI Series (Home)
June 2026 – Afghanistan ODI Series (Home)
July 2026 – Tour of England (Away)
September-October 2026 – West Indies ODI Series (Home)
October-November 2026 – New Zealand ODI Series (Home)
December 2026 – Sri Lanka ODI Series (Home)
September 2026 – Tour of Bangladesh, rescheduled from August 2025 (Away)