Mumbai: Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a return to India's ODI set-up, saying the experienced seamer should be prepared for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Bhuvneshwar has not played for India since November 2022, when he last featured in a T20I. His most recent ODI also came that year, with injuries and advancing age pushing him out of the national team's plans. The 36-year-old would be 37 by the time the 2027 World Cup gets underway.

Speaking in a video posted on ESPNCricinfo's YouTube channel, Ashwin said, "Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a yes. I would communicate to him. Get him to play all the tournaments, first-class, Vijay Hazare, everything, and get him prime going to South Africa. I think we will need him there."

Bhuvneshwar has enjoyed moderate success in South African conditions, claiming 19 wickets in 13 international matches at an average of 35.26, including best figures of 5/24. However, only two of those wickets came in ODIs across eight appearances.

Ashwin's endorsement follows Bhuvneshwar's impressive IPL campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he played a key role in the franchise's title-winning season. The experienced seamer finished as the tournament's second-highest wicket-taker with 28 scalps from 16 matches at an average of 17.89 while maintaining an economy rate of 7.95. His ability to generate swing, execute yorkers and bowl with discipline proved effective even on batting-friendly pitches.

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The right-arm pacer has represented India in 121 ODIs, taking 141 wickets at an average of 35.11 and an economy rate of 5.08, with best figures of 5/42. Across all international formats, he has claimed 294 wickets in 229 matches.

Ashwin also shared his preferred squad for the 2027 World Cup, backing senior stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli alongside key ODI players Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah.

He also expressed confidence in youngsters Harshit Rana and Ishan Kishan. Ashwin believes Rana's height, pace, ability to extract bounce and useful batting skills could make him a valuable option in South African conditions.

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For the bowling attack, Ashwin picked Kuldeep Yadav as the lead spinner, with Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Bhuvneshwar forming his preferred pace unit.

The former all-rounder, however, remained undecided on several players, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna.

Ashwin ruled out several others from his projected squad, including Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar. (ANI)