ODI rule change on aging balls exposes flaws in India's pace attack ahead of World Cup

An International Cricket Council rule change implemented on July 2, 2025, has exposed major weaknesses in India's one-day international pace bowling as the team prepares for the 2027 World Cup in Africa. The rule stipulates that only one ball is used after 34 overs, allowing it to age up to 33 overs and help bowlers generate reverse swing. While fast bowlers across the top ten ODI nations have improved their numbers during the final overs since the adjustment, Indian pacers have struggled significantly. Before the rule change, Indian pacers averaged 23.5 in overs 35 to 50 with an economy rate of 6.9. Since July 2, 2025, their bowling average has jumped to 32.1 and their economy rate has climbed to 7.9. Across 15 matches under the new rule, India has used nine different seamers and failed to settle on a primary bowling group, taking only 27 wickets in that phase. Jasprit Bumrah played two matches without taking a wicket in the old-ball phase, while Mohammed Siraj took three wickets across four games. Harshit Rana and Gurnoor Brar both averaged over 40 while giving up more than eight runs per over. Arshdeep Singh took six wickets with an economy rate under seven, and Prasidh Krishna led the group with eight scalps despite a high economy of 8.78. India has 14 ODIs scheduled over the next four months to sort out these personnel and planning issues before the tournament.