The ODI leadership baton has been passed over to Shubman Gill.
The BCCI Men’s Senior Selection Committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, took a tough call of sacking Rohit Sharma as ODI captain when they sit together to pick the squad for the upcoming Australia tour on Saturday (October 4).
Despite leading India to the Champions Trophy win earlier this year, the 38-year-old Rohit was not considered for the leadership role. With the ODI World Cup scheduled in two years’ time, the baton was passed over to Shubman Gill, who was also named the Test skipper following Rohit's retirement in May 2025.
Speaking at the square announcement presser in Ahmedabad, Agarkar addressed the decision to remove Rohit as ODI captain. However, the chief selector stayed mum about the future of Rohit and Virat Kohli, refusing to make a comment when asked whether the duo would feature in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
“We’ve picked them [for Australia]… as far as the 2027 World Cup is concerned, I don’t think we need to talk about it today. You don't have to think too far at this point, as the team is picked for Australia, and you know, just need them to score runs like they have been through their career,” Agarkar told reporters.
"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 said on the captaincy switch.
While Agarkar did not reveal how Rohit reacted to the development of the captaincy being taken away from him, he did say that the decision to have a change of guard was very hard.
“Even if he had not won the Champions Trophy, it would have been a difficult decision because of how good he's been for India. But you've got to sometimes look at what's coming forward. Where you stand as a team and eventually look at what's in the best interest of the team. Whether it's now or maybe six months later. Those are the calls that I suppose you have to make. Like I said, it's tough with one-day cricket at this point,” said Agarkar.
“Because if you're going to make that call, you want to try and make it reasonably early and give the other guy enough chance to try and get that confidence of leading another format. That was the idea, but it's always tough. Someone who's been very successful, you have to make that decision,” he remarked.
Agarkar also gave a sneak peek into the management's thought process, citing that they wanted to give Gill the maximum number of games to find his feet as the ODI captain, which led to the move being made ahead of the Australia tour.
"The plan was to give the next guy enough time to plan with whatever games that we have coming, and it is very difficult to have three different captains for three formats, in terms of not just selectors but more importantly, even for the coach to plan with three different people is never easy," said Agarkar.