England should start planning for the 2027 World Cup from now itself because their chances of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup semifinals are almost zero. Also, the England team might miss out on a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy if they finish outside the Top 7 in the standings of the 2023 WC.
The 2027 World Cup is still four years away. If England continue to perform like this, they might be forced to play in the Qualifiers for the mega event. To avoid doing so, here are four radical changes that England must make to improve their ODI game.
1. England should form a new squad for 2027 World Cup
England must press the reboot button in the ODI format now and get rid of the current lot. With a new captain and a new bunch of players, the English team should form a new ODI squad which will represent them in the 2027 World Cup.
2. Avoid picking retired players
Moeen Ali had retired from Tests, but England called him back. Ben Stokes had retired from ODIs, but England called him back. Perhaps, England should stop doing this because a player only retires when he has no motivation left to play.
3. Rotate players wisely and maintain workload
Quite a few English players are not 100% fit. The biggest name missing from the team is Jofra Archer, who has been out of action for a long time now. England must learn from India how to rotate players in such a way that the team balance is not altered and players are recharged.
4. England should have an ODI specialist captain for 2027 World Cup
Jos Buttler has been a big flop as an ODI captain. He must stick to the T20I format and play T20 leagues in free time. England should adopt ODI as a specialization format, picking players who are best suited for 50-over format only. Someone like Zak Crawley or Harry Brook can be appointed as new captain.
