Sourav Ganguly Picks India's World Cup 2027 Playing XI, Drops Kuldeep Yadav

Sourav Ganguly drops Kuldeep Yadav [Source: AFP]The ICC has finally unveiled the entire schedule of next year’s 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The announcement has already sparked plenty of buzz among fans and experts, with discussions about India’s squad and potential playing XI gaining momentum.Apparently, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has his own take on how India’s playing XI could shape up for the marquee tournament.Sourav Ganguly names his preferred India XI for World Cup 2027While speaking on the Star Sports network, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was asked to assemble his preferred Team India playing XI for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year. The cricketer-turned-coach picked up a familiar top-order, comprising of the likes of the opening batters Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, with modern-day great Virat Kohli coming in at number three. Ganguly further named Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and seasoned all-rounder Hardik Pandya as his preferred middle-order.Also Read- How Many Times Can India And Pakistan Face Each Other In ODI World Cup 2027?For his second all-rounder, the 54-year-old is willing to pick any one of Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube. Axar Patel will serve as Ganguly’s third specialist all-rounder in the team, while the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna should helm the Indian pace attack on bouncy South African surfaces, as per the ex-cricketer.Sourav Ganguly picks India XI for World Cup 2027: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar/Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Sourav Ganguly snubs Kuldeep YadavThe former Indian skipper surprisingly left Kuldeep Yadav out of his preferred World Cup 2027 playing XI, even though the left-arm spinner is on a wicket-taking spree late on.Just this past weekend, Kuldeep bagged a ‘Player of the Match’ award on a batting-friendly Thiruvananthapuram surface against the West Indies. A couple of days later, Kuldeep Yadav became one of the quickest bowlers in the world to complete 200 ODI wickets.Incidentally, this is not the first time this year that a Delhi Capitals member has excluded Kuldeep from a team’s set-up. Just a couple of months ago, the Delhi Capitals franchise traded the ace spinner off to the LSG in exchange for Rishabh Pant.Sourav Ganguly, meanwhile, was recently named head coach of the Capitals for the IPL 2027 next year.Also Read- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Record vs Pakistan Ahead Of Asian Games 2026 Final