Morkel calls West Indies series foundation for 2027 World Cup

India bowling coach Morne Morkel sees the three-match ODI series against the West Indies as the first step toward 2027. He told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that the side sat down to set the standards it wants and plans to start laying those foundations this week.

Workload management still comes first. Auqib Nabi and Harshit Rana are being eased back, while Nitish Kumar Reddy needs regular games to turn into a proper all-rounder.

The opening ODI is on Sunday at the Greenfield International Stadium. India have lost two of their last three ODI series and will be missing several senior players.