Former India opener Aakash Chopra has delivered a blunt assessment of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's hopes of forcing his way into India's plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup, warning that the veteran seamer's lack of regular 50-over and first-class cricket could prove to be a major hurdle despite his impressive IPL form.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked about the World Cup prospects of both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. While praising Bhuvneshwar's performances for Royal Challengers Bengaluru — where he played a key role in their back-to-back IPL title-winning campaigns — Chopra stressed that preparing for a 50-over World Cup requires sustained workload management that cannot be achieved by playing only T20 cricket.

'When you don't play Ranji, your workload becomes limited'

"One thing goes against Bhuvi. I love him to bits, and I want him to play for India again, but when you don't play Ranji, your workload becomes limited," Chopra said. "There are a handful of matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In ODI cricket, you have to bowl 10 overs and field for 50 overs in a match. It's a lot of workload."

Bhuvneshwar has not featured in a first-class match since January 2024 and last played a List A game in December 2023. He has taken 141 wickets in 120 ODI innings at an economy rate of 5.08 but has not represented India in the format since January 2022.

Chopra was emphatic that excelling in the IPL alone should not be the basis for selection in a 50-over World Cup, and argued that if the selectors are serious about Bhuvneshwar, they must bring him back into the ODI setup immediately.

"It's not easy in a tournament like the World Cup where you have to keep playing continuously. Not only the World Cup, but you will have to be a part of every ODI game from a year earlier. You will have to start playing him from now on," Chopra said.

"He is not a bad option, but it will be a mistake unless we give him at least one year to get ready. If you pick someone for the 50-over World Cup based on him bowling four overs in the two months of the IPL and a month of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, no matter how good that person is, it will be wrong."

Chopra also suggested that Bhuvneshwar should feature in the upcoming ODI series and even the T20I assignments if he remains under consideration for the 2027 World Cup.

Shami has an edge, but the race remains open

Comparing Bhuvneshwar with Mohammed Shami, Chopra felt the latter currently has a stronger case because he has continued playing red-ball cricket, including the Ranji Trophy, where he claimed 37 wickets. Shami is also set to feature in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.

However, Chopra maintained that Bhuvneshwar had the better IPL season of the two.

"It's the same thing for Shami, although he has played the Ranji Trophy and picked up 37 wickets. He is going to play the Duleep Trophy now as well. So Shami has a slightly better case to make, but the truth is that if we do man-to-man marking in the IPL, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ahead of him in that respect," Chopra said.

Shami has claimed 206 wickets in 107 ODIs at an economy of 5.58, with his last appearance for India coming during last year's Champions Trophy.

New Zealand series could settle the debate

Chopra believes the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand could provide a clear indication of India's plans for the two veteran quicks, and predicted there is only room for one of them at most.

"My understanding is that the selectors, captain, and coach won't take both of them. Maximum one of them can come, and who that one will be, we will come to know in the next four to six months," Chopra said. "By New Zealand, we will have an answer as to which of them is going to come or if no one is going to come, because if neither of them is taken to New Zealand, then that's it."