Will Tilak Varma Replace Shreyas Iyer in India's ODI World Cup 2027 Squad?

The ODI World Cup 2027 is just a year away and all the participating teams have begun preparing for the marquee cricket tournament. Just like in every edition, there will be high hopes from the Indian cricket team and they will start as favorites.

There are plenty of speculations about India squad for ODI World Cup 2027 with some of the best batsmen in the world aiming for the spot in the team. Shreyas Iyer, India's current ODI vice-captain, is one of them.

While he is almost guaranteed a spot provided that he has no injury issues, Iyer will look to continue scoring runs to keep his spot fixed. However, a report claimed that the middle order batter Tilak Varma is also in the mix, which could potentially put pressure on Iyer's spot in the team.

Will Tilak Varma Replace Shreyas Iyer in ODI World Cup 2027?

According to TOI, Tilak Varma is seen as a potential candidate for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027. Tilak is a quality middle order batter who has done well for India in the T20Is, but has still not established himself in the ODI format.

While Tilak is in selectors' plans, there is no threat to Iyer's position as of now. This is because Tilak Varma is seen as Shreyas Iyer back up in ODI World Cup, in case the latter fails to make it to the squad.

Being a left-handed batter, Varma can be a handy option for Team India in the middle order. India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has often preferred to have more left-handers in the batting order, a luxury which Tilak can provide.

Currently, India's batting order in ODIs has plenty of right-handers. All the top six batters are right-handers given that India prefer Rohit Sharma over Yashasvi Jaiswal in the opening slot alongside Shubman Gill, the captain. All-rounder Axar Patel might be moved up to No. 5 as he provides a left-handed option and has done well in this spot before.

Tilak Varma Asked to Bowl

Adding to it, Tilak Varma can chip in with a few overs of his off-breaks if needed. The Indian team management has reportedly asked him to start bowling as they want someone in the batting order to bowl a few overs to put less pressure on the all-rounders like Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel.

India batting order in World Cup 2027 has some of the best ODI batsmen of all time. It looks experienced but is also ageing at the same time. As a result, the fielding standards have also dipped a bit.

With Iyer having his troubles against pace and bounce, the selectors and the team management understand the need to keep younger players ready. This has prompted them to keep a batter like Tilak in the mix, who can serve Indian cricket for a long time.