Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar has backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) move to appoint Shubman Gill as Rohit Sharma's sucessor to lead the side in the ODI series against Australia.
Vengsarkar for Shubman Gill's ODI captaincy
The 1983 World Cup-winning star praised the selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, for appointing Gill as India’s new ODI captain. According to him, the Test skipper is the best choice to lead across formats.
Gill is a very good all-format player. Actually, when you pick a captain, you first pick the team and then you pick the best available guy to lead the side. I think Gill is the best person to lead the side in ODIs and Test matches because he is also good in T20s,” Vengsarkar told Mid-Day.
Vengsarkar on Rohit, Virat selection
Vengsarkar, who was the first batter to score three consecutive Test centuries at Lord's, questioned the inclusion of Rohit and Virat Kohli in the 15-member ODI squad for the upcoming Australia series. He believes that the batting duo are great players but selectors must consider their selection since they now play only one format.
“Rohit and Virat have possibly been picked because of their great records. They have been great players and have done yeoman service to Indian cricket, having won many matches in all formats of the game,” Vengsarkar told the publication.
"It’s very difficult to gauge their form and fitness. But, since they have been picked, the selectors may have checked that, though I don’t know how,” he added.
Gill, who was appointed as India's Test captain before the England series, will now lead the Men in Blue in ODIs as well. Suryakumar Yadav is leading the side in T20Is.
India vs Australia white ball series schedule
India will play a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20I series against Australia, which is scheduled to start from October 19.
India's ODI series schedule against Australia
| Date | Day | Match | Venue | Match Time (GMT) | Local Time | Timing (IST) |
| 10/19/25 | Sunday | Australia vs India, 1st ODI | Perth Stadium, Perth | 03:30 AM GMT | 11:30 AM LOCAL | 9:00 AM IST |
| 10/23/25 | Thursday | Australia vs India, 2nd ODI | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | 03:30 AM GMT | 02:00 PM LOCAL | 9:00 AM IST |
| 10/25/25 | Saturday | Australia vs India, 3rd ODI | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | 03:30 AM GMT | 02:30 PM LOCAL | 9:00 AM IST |
India's T20I schedule against Australia
| Match | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | October 29 | Manuka Oval, Canberra |
| 2nd T20I | October 31 | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 3rd T20I | November 2 | Bellerive Oval, Hobart |
| 4th T20I | November 6 | Gold Coast Stadium |
| 5th T20I | November 8 | The Gabba, Brisbane |
Squads
India ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), 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