India, Oct. 1 -- Cricket's biggest quadrennial extravaganza, the 50-over men's World Cup, is a little more than a year away, with India desperate to end a wait since 2011 to add a third trophy to their burgeoning cabinet. The final leg of preparations will kick off in New Zealand from November 4, in the first of five One-Day Internationals, with so much work ahead of the leadership group of Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir when it comes to sifting through the pace options and arriving at a settled, stable combination.

India have played 11 ODIs this calendar year, winning seven and losing four, where they have used as many as ten fast bowlers/medium-pacers, and have been denied the certain use of an 11th because Hardik Pandya has remained ...