Rohit Sharma lost his ODI captaincy to Shubman Gill as BCCI announced India's squad for the upcoming three-match assignment against Australia. While both Rohit and Virat Kohli were named in the en in Blue's squad, the baton was passed over to Gill. The 26-year-old had succeeded Rohit as the side's Test captain earlier this year and his leadership skills have earned praise from many.
In his reaction to being elected as India's ODI skipper, Gill remarked that he is proud to lead a side that has achieved a lot of success in the format. He also outlined the 2027 World Cup as the side's 'ultimate goal' and added that they will try and have a great season before the tournament.
“It’s the biggest honour to be able to lead your country in the ODIs. To be able to lead a side that has done so well it’s immense pride for me. I hope I’ll be able to do great," Gill said in the video posted by the BCCI.
“We have about 20 ODIs before we play the World Cup in South Africa, which is obviously the ultimate goal. Everything that we play and all the players that we play, they are going to try their best to have a great season before we get to the World Cup. Hopefully, we will be ready before we go to South Africa and win the title," he added.
Agarkar's verdict on replacing Rohit with Gill
On the other hand, selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar shared the reason behind replacing Rohit as India's ODI captain. He stated that it is impossible for them to have different captains in all the three formats and highlighted how one-day cricket is p layed less in comparison to the other two. This means that both Rohit and Virat will not get much game-time before the World Cup even if they are regular members of the squad.
"A couple of things, really. Firstly, it's practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats, just in terms of planning. Obviously, at some stage, you have to start looking at where the next World Cup will be; it's also a format that 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," Agarkar told reporters.
How many matches will India play on the tour?
Meanwhile, India will be touring Australia for a three-match ODI series and five-match T20I series. The two teams will first battle in the one-day assignment that will begin from October 19 and will later be playing the T20I series that will commence from October 29.