Rohit Sharma’s captaincy era came to an end when the BCCI named Shubman Gill India’s next ODI captain ahead of the Australia white-ball series. Rohit has given his first reaction ahead of the series and after the captaincy snub.
Ahead of India’s upcoming ODI series after the change in guards in the 50-over setup, Rohit Sharma has given his first reaction.
Rohit’s captaincy came to an end when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, naming Shubman Gill as their next ODI skipper.
India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar opened up on the rationale of changing the captain despite Rohit leading India to the Champions Trophy 2025 win.
“It’s practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats in terms of planning. You’ve got to start planning. You also play it [ODIs] the least. We are two years away [2027 World Cup]. We don’t play as many games. It is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket. The focus has been on the T20 World Cup. We will surely start planning for the ODI World Cup. It gives the next guy enough time,” Agarkar said during a media briefing shortly after India’s squad for the Australia series was announced.
Meanwhile, Rohit has now given his first reaction ahead of the series and after the captaincy snub. “I love playing against Australia, love going there, people in Australia love cricket a lot,” Rohit said on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards.
Before taking the ODI captaincy, Gill had also taken the Test captaincy from Rohit, who retired from the longest format in May.
Speaking on getting the leadership, Gill said that it is a proud moment to lead the national side in the 50-over format. “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.
The 26-year-old highlighted that the ‘ultimate goal’ is the ODI World Cup 2027 and the team needs to work in the ODIs lined up ahead.
“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.
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