Ex-India Captain Ajinkya Rahane Picks 5-Man Pace Attack For 2027 World Cup. 4 Massive Names Excluded

Harshit Rana and Bhuvneshwar Kumar did not find a place in Ajinkya Rahane's ideal India pace attack© AFP

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee, now headed by Pragyan Ojha, faces a big task in selecting the nation's 2027 Cricket World Cup squad. One area where Ojha and co. will have to solve several dilemmas is in the pace-bowling unit. While Jasprit Bumrah will almost certainly spearhead the attack, which other fast bowlers will make the cut is set to cause a big debate. Former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane has started the debate by picking his five preferred pacers for the 2027 World Cup, and he has left out a few big names.

Rahane opted to go with Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and the uncapped Mayank Yadav as his five pacers for India's 2027 World Cup squad, in a video posted by Sony Sports Network.

This meant that Rahane left out the likes of Harshit Rana, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Gurnoor Brar.

Ajinkya Rahane faced the ultimate selection question of picking 5 fast bowlers for India's 2027 ODI World Cup squad ! Ajab Sawaal Ghazab Jawaab is LIVE NOW on Sony LIV and our YouTube channel. Watch the HERO VIDA India Tour of New Zealand, 3rd T201 on 27th Oct, 11:30 AM onwards, LIVE on Sony Sports Network TV channels, Sony LIV & Sony Vizha. #SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV #SonyVizha #NZvIND

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) October 24, 2026

Arshdeep and Prasidh, more often than not, have been a part of India's ODI setup in recent months. However, Siraj has found himself in and out of the team.

Rahane's decision to go with Mayank is the biggest curveball. The injury-prone pacer, who has clocked a top speed of 156.7 kmph in his career, is yet to play a single ODI, having only played 11 T20Is till date.

No Harshit, Bhuvneshwar?

While veterans like Bhuvneshwar and Shami didn't make Rahane's preferred five, the biggest surprise omission is arguably Harshit Rana.

Harshit averages nearly two wickets a game in ODIs, with 26 scalps in his 14 games till date. He has also shown his ability as a lower middle-order hitter, having slammed a half-century too.

Gurnoor Brar has been a constant in India's ODI squads of late, but he did not find a place in Rahane's five-man attack either.

As for Bhuvneshwar and Shami, the former has struggled so far on his T20I return, while the latter last played an international match nearly two years ago.

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