The Indian Cricket Board has recently appointed Shubman Gill as the new captain of the One Day International (ODI) team for the upcoming tour of Australia, replacing Rohit Sharma.
Shubman Gill, who already leads the Indian Test team, will now also captain the ODI side. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, after clearing their fitness tests, are part of India’s ODI squad. Therefore, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will now play against Australia under the captaincy of young cricketer Shubman Gill.
Regarding the decision to remove Rohit Sharma from ODI captaincy and appoint Shubman Gill as the new captain, Ajit Agarkar said:
“From a planning point of view, having three different captains for three formats is practically impossible. Therefore, we have to start planning ahead. For now, our focus is on the T20 World Cup, and alongside that, preparations for the next ODI World Cup will begin — giving the next captain enough time.”
When asked about removing Rohit from captaincy, Agarkar said:
“Considering that under Rohit Sharma’s leadership India won the Champions Trophy, it was indeed a tough decision to remove him. But even if India had not won under his leadership, it still would have been a difficult call.”
The Chief Selector further said, “We have to see what is best for the team. To give a new captain ample time to lead, decisions like this have to be taken earlier.”
When questioned about whether Rohit had been informed of the decision, Agarkar replied, “That is between me and Rohit, but of course, he was informed about the decision.”
The Chief Selector also confirmed that Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma will continue to open the innings together in ODIs.
Meanwhile, according to an Indian media report citing BCCI sources, the selectors and team management were concerned that if Rohit continued as captain, he would run the team according to his “philosophical leadership style,” which could negatively affect team culture.
The report further stated that when a player like Rohit holds leadership, he tends to manage the dressing room based on his personal philosophy — potentially leading to disruptions in team culture.
