India's Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma (R).
Credit: Reuters Photo
India's Test skipper Shubman Gill was handed over the reins of the ODI format as well by the Indian selectors on Saturday. Gill has replaced Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain, a move that was expected sooner or later.
However, many cricket fans are wondering why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to place the responsibility on the shoulders of the young Gill replacing a seasoned player like Rohit Sharma.
Gill was appointed as India's Test captain in May 2025, following Virat Kohli and Sharma's retirement from the format.
Keeping the 2027 World Cup in mind, the selectors did not want different captains for the three formats in order to improve planning.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said that with very few ODIs being played these days, it is impossible to look at three different captains as it hampers the general planning of the squad.
"Firstly, it's practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats, just in terms of planning," Agarkar said. The 2027 World Cup is a huge part of this committee's plan and Gill needs to be given time to settle down into the role. "Obviously, at some stage, you have got to start looking at where the next World Cup is, it's also a format which is played the least now, so you don't get that many games to actually give the next guy or if there is going to be another guy that much time to prepare himself or plan."
When asked if Rohit has been informed about the decision, Agarkar confirmed that the opener has indeed been communicated about the change in captaincy but kept it open-ended when asked if both him and Kohli will play the 2027 ODI World Cup.
"Yes. I mean that is the format they are playing at the moment and we (have) picked them. As far as the 2027 (ODI) World Cup is concerned, I don't think we need to talk about it today, obviously with the captaincy change that's generally the thought," said Agarkar. Asked how Rohit had taken the decision, the former pacer came up with a terse reply: "That is something between the selection committee and Rohit."
ODI squad for Australia tour:
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
T20I squad:
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
(With PTI inputs)