Shubman Gill has been appointed as India's new ODI captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, according to chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar. The team for the three-match series starting in Perth on October 19 was announced on Saturday. The decision is made as the team management readies Gill, 26, to captain India at the 2027 ODI World Cup, to be hosted across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. With this, Gill now captains India in Tests and ODIs and is vice-captain in T20Is.
The panel headed by Agarkar met on Saturday to confirm the Australia tour team. The head coach Gautam Gambhir was consulted before the decision to remove Rohit as captain was made. Gill had already become the Test captain earlier this year after Rohit Sharma's retirement from the longest format.
Since stepping down from Tests, Rohit has been hard at work training in Mumbai to be at the best fitness for the Australia tour. Sessions with erstwhile Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar were recorded in recent videos, indicating Rohit in great physical condition ahead of the series.
For the upcoming ODI series, Shreyas Iyer has been made Gill's deputy. Iyer, who is a right-handed Mumbai batter, has been given the responsibility due to his impressive leadership skills in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are also part of the team, their first international assignment since India's ICC Men's Champions Trophy victory over New Zealand.
The shift from the 38-year-old Rohit marks a monumental change in Indian cricket. Reports early this year indicated that Rohit and Virat could play their last international series against Australia. As per Dainik Jagran, if either is keen to be part of the 2027 ODI World Cup, playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy would be essential.
Rohit had replaced Virat as ODI captain in December 2021, following Kohli’s decision to step down as T20I skipper. The BCCI, led then by Sourav Ganguly, wanted a unified leadership for India’s white-ball formats, giving Rohit the reins.
Under Rohit’s leadership, India won the Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka and reached the World Cup final the same year, only to fall to Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Though Rohit hasn't captained as many ODIs as MS Dhoni (200) or Kohli (95), he's commonly considered one of India's finest white-ball captains. Under his leadership, India won the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy, and made it to the 50-over World Cup final.
Both Rohit and Virat recently skipped the India A vs Australia A series, which commenced on September 30 in Kanpur. Even rumors followed them, but Rohit clearly stated he would remain in the ODI format after taking India to victory in the Champions Trophy in Dubai, famously quoting, "I am not retiring from this format."
Rohit finished his ODI captaincy with 56 matches, winning 42 and losing 12, with a 75% winning ratio in the 50-over format.
