On player by player, if I look at the squad -
1. Sharma (36/37) - won’t play next WC, might not even CT, but probably will play 1 more T20 WC. Irreplaceable player - there will be many great batsman from India, but replacing RS doesn’t happen easily. He was my MoS this time for the impact he created - had Head not taken that catch, Aussies could have been chasing 100 more!! Jaiswal is an able replacement, but …
2. Gill (24) - probably next WC captain. A run machine and he’ll score lot, may not be that impactful like RS
3. Kohli (35) - most likely won’t be playing next WC, even if he plays won’t be the Kohli of 2010s. He actually cost India at least 20-25 runs this final. Replacement- there are few - Tilak Verma, Raturaj, Yash Dhul … all potentially able replacements, but Kohli of 2010s was unique.
4. Iyer (28/29) - should be around at his peak next time
5. KL (31/32) - might still stick around, but not sure he’ll be this good. Also, won’t keep for sure - either will play as batsman or get dropped. Replacements- no worries, there could be better find - Sarfraz comes to mind.
6. SKY (32) - might have played his last ODI. However, HPandeya (30) might be good enough by than to be specialist bat.
7. Jadeja (35)/Ashwin (37) - both might have played their last ODI/white ball tournament. Replacement - plenty for White ball, WSundar & Ravi Bishnoy comes to mind. Both Jadeja/Ashwin actually are invaluable Test players, but not that a big issue to find able replacements for white ball - Sundar could be better replacement actually.
8. Shami (33/34) - biggest loss, no way he can carry on for another WC. His impact is immense, for that he was the best first change in world. There will be good pacer, but replacing Shami could be difficult, because good new ball pacers are easier to find/develop; Shami was unique in his trait.
9. Kuldeep (29/30) - still should be around but might loose his place to conventional right arm leggi. Able replacement should be available- in fact Bishnoy can be an upgrade
10. Bumrah (30) - still might be around but surely he can maintain this peak at mid 30s. His action takes too much on body and I felt guy gave his everything in this WC - he might not stick around in ODI till next WC. Even if he does, won’t be this Bumrah and finding replacement could be tougher than Shami.
11. Siraj (29/30) - to be honest Siraj isn’t that good, rather he peaked at right time. Even if his body holds on, still he might loose his place to younger pacers. Replacement shouldn’t be difficult, however replacing Siraj as a whole isn’t a big deal, but replacing No. 1 bowler (even for a short period) isn’t easy.
Overall, I think this is the best Indian team in many years with most players at their peak, at the best age bracket as well - it’s among best few teams not to win a WC along with WIN of 1983, PAK of 1987, 96 & 99, AUS of 1992, SAF of 1999, 03, 07, 15. Next team will definitely be very good, almost certain to be among top 4 ranked on table and a strong contender for SF; but I don’t think 2027 team will be near as good as 2023 one. Batting gap potentially might not be that wide, but replacing the combo impact of these three pacers won’t happen - one cam mark this post,
ICC is going back to super six model in 2027 - would be less surprised for India to miss SF in 2027 than not winning it in 2023.
