After winning the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format. Before the 5-match Test series against England, he also retired from Test cricket. In this situation, Shubman Gill was made the captain of the Test team. Now, the Hitman is the captain of India only in the ODI format, while Suryakumar Yadav leads the Indian team in T20 Internationals.
Only One Name in the Race for ODI Captaincy
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, quoting BCCI sources, the ODI series in Australia in October may be the last international series for both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. In such a case, the question arises — who will be the next ODI captain after Rohit’s retirement? Only one name is leading this race — Team India’s “Prince” Shubman Gill. There are many reasons why Gill could be given the ODI captaincy.
BCCI’s Plan for Two Captains
Currently, India has three different captains for three formats. BCCI does not want this system to continue and prefers to have only two captains. This will also make the job easier for the coach. Suryakumar Yadav will likely remain the T20I captain, while the Test and ODI leadership could go to Shubman Gill.
Gill is already being prepared for ODI captaincy. He could lead in two formats and be a good replacement for Rohit. Suryakumar is doing well as T20I captain, so there is no need to replace him. Gill is also a strong ODI player. He was first given the Test captaincy so that he could later take on the ODI role.
Although Gill has no ODI captaincy experience, the team is going through a transition phase. In such a situation, BCCI can trust a young player.
So far, Rohit Sharma has captained in 56 ODIs, winning 42 and losing 12. One match ended in a tie. His win percentage is even better than MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.