Golden chance for Washington and Harsh to make an impact

World Cup preparations are a long-drawn process, chiselled and fine-tuned in bilateral contests. It is in these games that the team management can try out players in the heat of battle and figure out the combination.

Though there are nearly 15 months to go until the 2027 ICC World Cup (co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe), India has already begun its preparations. The Men in Blue played three ODIs earlier in January against New Zealand. They have 17 more before the end of the year, starting with a three-match duel against Afghanistan, which begins here at the HPCA Stadium on Saturday.

This series will be crucial in auditioning candidates for spots in the middle-and-lower-order. One slot which has seen some churn in the last three ODI series has been the spin-bowling all-rounder.

After using both Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the XI during the victorious 2025 Champions Trophy campaign, India has alternated between the two in the subsequent series. Considering the conditions in South Africa won’t be conducive to having two tweakers, it made sense.

While Axar got a go in Australia, Jadeja was brought back for the home assignments against South Africa and New Zealand.

However, for the series against the Afghans, neither left-armers finds a place in the squad, with the selectors handing Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey a maiden call-up.

In the mix is also Washington Sundar, who has played in six of the last nine ODIs and is looking to establish his foothold in the line-up.

These calls now raise questions about Jadeja’s long-term prospects. The Saurashtra player is one of the fittest cricketers, but will be almost 39 when the quadrennial event begins, and hasn’t had the greatest of runs with the bat in recent outings.

At a time when neither Virat Kohli nor Rohit Sharma is guaranteed to feature in the World Cup, Jadeja’s future in this format, too, is at a crossroads. If age and form are factors for Jadeja, Axar’s case is more curious. The Gujarat all-rounder made vital contributions in the Champions Trophy and had a decent showing with the bat in Australia, but hasn’t been picked since then.

This spot is vital, considering all four contenders provide a much-needed left-handed variety to an otherwise right-hand-heavy batting line-up. For now, Washington and Harsh will be acutely aware that they have a golden chance to make a big impact.