Shubman Gill says he is glad that ICC has not moved forward with "40 over" proposal with ODIs

XtraTime Newsdesk: Shubman Gill, India's ODI captain, has praised the ICC's decision not to modify the 50-over format, stressing that the ODI World Cup remains the apex and recommended the revival of tri-series and quadrangular competitions to rekindle interest in ODI cricket.

Speaking ahead of the first ODI against England, Gill stated that he grew up watching 50-over cricket and believes the format does not necessitate a drop to 40 overs. Instead, he feels that reintroducing multi-team tournaments will make the format more attractive for both players and spectators.

"I grew up watching 50-over cricket a lot and it remained an integral part of my childhood," Gill said ahead of the first ODI in Birmingham. "When I think of the World Cup, the first thought that comes to mind is the 50-over World Cup. For me, the 50-over World Cup is the most prestigious World Cup. I don't think it should be changed to 40 overs.

"One thing is that we used to play a lot of triangular series and it was really fun to watch. India, Australia and Sri Lanka used to play those tournaments. If I ever get a chance to play in a triangular series, it will be fun because you are not playing one team continuously. If we want to make this format more interesting, instead of having bilateral series, we can have triangular or quadrangular series. That'll be interesting to play and to watch."

Gill also dismissed any concerns about the ODI team after the 4-0 series loss against England in the T20I series(which followed a 2-0 loss to Ireland). "I don't think that will have an impact on this team," Gill stated. "It's a different format, a different team and the goal is different. We just played the T20 World Cup and won. Now, playing the one-day series, our team has a different goal as to what we want to achieve. In that regard, I think the atmosphere is different."

With injuries to Nitish Kumar Reddy and Nitish Rana, Gill has said that the ODI team is not unsettled and wants the youngsters to get exposed to high pressure situations before the 2027 World Cup. I don't think there are any concerning areas. And I also don't think we have an unsettled XI. But obviously you have to give the new players a chance and experience. The more they are in pressure situations and the more they do well, the better it will be for us before the World Cup," he observed.

"We were a bit unfortunate. Reddy got injured before the series and Harshit Rana is injured. We wanted to play them in as many matches as possible before the World Cup so that when their turn comes, they feel settled. Obviously, because of the injuries, we have had to play a different combination."

Gill also revealed that he had a conversation with Virat Kohli this week revolving around identifying the best squad combinations for the 2027 event. "The conversation was regarding the combination - what combination could be best for us, which players may not be in the team right now but could help us in the future, which bowlers, all-rounders and spinners. We were talking about that," Gill confirmed.

The India captain emphasized the importance of veteran players Kohli and Rohit Sharma, while also expressing optimism that Jasprit Bumrah will ease back into ODI cricket, with the bowler set to play his first game in the format since the 2023 World Cup final. "I think Virat bhai and Rohit bhai have been the backbone of the Indian batting lineup for the past decade. They remain a very integral part of our team. The experience and the skill that they bring is obviously very valuable. We have seen what they have done over the past decade in different conditions, consistently and on different occasions.

"And yes, Bumrah is coming into the setup after a bit of time. Hopefully, he's had a good number of overs leading up to this one-day series and hopefully this series goes well for him."