Shubman Gill is the new ODI captain, taking over for Rohit Sharma. The squad for the upcoming three-match series against Australia has been announced.
Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors, announced the squad on Saturday for the upcoming three-match series against Australia, which starts on October 19 in Perth. Shubman Gill will be the next ODI captain, taking over from Rohit Sharma. The current team management chose Gill because they want the 26-year-old to lead India in the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Gill is now the vice-captain in T20Is and the captain in Tests and ODIs.
Ajit Agarkar led the selection committee in picking the team for the trip to Australia on Saturday. The selectors also informed head coach Gautam Gambhir about the change. Gill became the Test captain earlier this year when Rohit stepped down from the role.
Since he announced his retirement from Test cricket, Rohit had been preparing in Mumbai to be in top shape for the trip to Australia.
He was seen practicing with Abhishek Nayar, a former assistant coach for Team India.
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New pictures and videos have appeared online in the last few days that show how Rohit lost weight and got in the best shape possible before his trip to Australia. Shreyas Iyer will be Gill’s second-in-command for the series against Australia. The right-handed batter from Mumbai has been rewarded for being a great captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rohit and Virat Kohli have both been named to the team, so they will be flying to Australia for the upcoming three-match series. This will be India’s first international series since they won the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy by beating New Zealand in the final.
When it comes to Indian cricket, the 38-year-old Rohit’s change of guard is a big deal. Earlier this year, there were rumors that RoKo might play their last international series for India against Australia. The Dainik Jagran article also said that Rohit and Virat will have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy if they want to be in the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Rohit and Virat both decided not to play in the India A series against Australia A, which started on September 30 in Kanpur.
Last year, India won the T20 World Cup and ended its ICC title drought under Rohit’s leadership. After the victory, Rohit and Virat both said they were done playing international T20Is.
Rohit then led India to victory in the eight-team Champions Trophy, where they played all of their games in Dubai. Rohit famously said after winning the Champions Trophy, “I am not retiring from this format.“ This came out at the same time as news that Rohit might stop playing ODIs.
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy tenure
Rohit Sharma was the captain of India in 56 games, winning 42 and losing 12. The right-handed batter, who turned 38 in April, had a 75% winning percentage in the 50-over format during his time.
In December 2021, Rohit took over as the ODI captain from Virat Kohli. The latter’s choice to step down as T20I captain led to this decision. Sourav Ganguly led the BCCI at the time, and they wanted one captain for both white-ball formats. That’s why Rohit was given the job.
India won the Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka and made it to the World Cup final in the same year, both with Rohit as captain. India lost the final match against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which was a letdown.
Rohit may not have led India in as many ODIs as MS Dhoni (200) and Kohli (95), but he is definitely one of the best white-ball captains India has ever had. Under his leadership, India won the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy and made it to the final of the 50-over World Cup.
