Former India cricketer Amit Mishra feels that Rohit Sharma will benefit from not captaining the team anymore and will be able to bat with more freedom in the upcoming ODI series against Australia. The batter's last assignment in international cricket was the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy where he led the side to the title.
Mishra stated that Rohit will not only be able to play freely, but will also be able to help Shubman Gill with different aspects of the role. He further pointed out that Rohit will not have to face pressure of captaincy anymore and this may end up helping him in improving his batting performance.
"I believe it is good for Rohit that the pressure of captaincy is not on him anymore. He has the freedom. He has to focus on his performance and helping the team win. He can help Gill with different aspects of the captaincy," Mishra said exclusively to ANI.
Mishra's remarks on Gill
Mishra also went on to back Gill to be successful as India's ODI captain, pointing out how he has been captaining in IPL for the past two years. He feels that the 26-year-old will mature quickly and predicted him to lead the ODI team for a long time.
"I think it is good for Gill. He has been captaining in the IPL for the last two years. He has led top players across the globe. It is good that Gill is being looked at as the captain. Since he has been handed the captaincy early, he will mature quickly and can serve India for a long time. Gill should enjoy and look to mature as quickly as possible," Mishra stated.
India's schedule against Australia
Meanwhile, India's three-match ODI series against Australia will commence from October 19. The first encounter will be contested at the Optus stadium in Perth and then the action will move to the Adelaide Oval where the second match will take place on October 23. The series finale will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 25. After the conclusion of this assignment, the two teams will lock horns in a five-match T20I series that will begin from October 29.
India's squad for Australia ODIs: 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.