The ‘others’ in India’s pace-bowling arsenal

Rana, Arshdeep and Krishna will be keen to make most of the chances they get to throw themselves in contention for the World Cup in South Africa

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @Chennai

WHEN India sit down to whittle down the long list of names for the 2027 edition of the World Cup, they will have a fixed number of slots under the heading marked pacers. Only one of them, Jasprit Bumrah, is a lock. He remains a cheat code in any format and will be the first name on the team sheet.

For all the others in contention, there will be auditions and dress rehearsals. Some may be put through repeat auditions for the express purpose of confirming why they have to be on the flight or why they ought to be on the sofas at home. You can kind of argue that for an event beginning in the fag end of 2027, it's a tad too early to begin preparations and you may well be right. But it's a format no side plays too much so the selectors and the leadership group will be watching whenever there's an opportunity to watch and learn more.