New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) Suresh Raina believes India will have a 90 percent chance of winning the 2027 ODI World Cup if veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli remain part of the team for the marquee tournament in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Raina’s comments came after former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh called for consistency in India’s ODI setup and urged the team management to avoid making too many changes ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Speaking about Yuvraj’s advice, Raina backed the experience of Rohit and Kohli and highlighted their record of winning major trophies for India and in the IPL.

“Absolutely, I think we have the gun player; we have a gun machine at home. We have the best captains who won a lot of trophies in IPL as well as for the country, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Virat, we don’t need any introduction because they are different player. I think I have played a lot of matches with them,” Raina told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Delhi.

“Virat wants it. I think this time we are playing the World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe. I think if both of them stay, there is a 90% chance of winning the World Cup,” he added.

Raina also referred to India’s defeat to Australia in the 2003 World Cup final, saying the team would have added motivation when it returns to South Africa for the 2027 edition. “Especially when we lost in South Africa in 2003, we have to take revenge for that as well,” Raina said.

Yuvraj had earlier stressed the importance of giving a settled group enough game time before the World Cup, with India having limited ODI fixtures between now and the tournament.

“They need to focus on building the same team to play in a year’s time, because you don’t want to make big changes at the last moment,” Yuvraj told Cricinfo.

“Whoever your players are, whether they are 16 or 20, it’s important that everybody gets game time because obviously now there are more T20s and fewer 50-over cricket matches. Whatever matches there are, it’s important that players get enough game time to prepare for the World Cup,” he added.

Rohit and Kohli have both been named in India’s 15-member ODI squad for the upcoming three-match home series against the West Indies, with Shubman Gill set to lead the side and KL Rahul appointed vice-captain.

The series will begin in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27, followed by the second ODI in Guwahati on September 30 and the third in Chandigarh on October 3. Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, will be part of India’s Asian Games campaign.

–IANS

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