Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has made a bizarre claim on Shubman Gill captaining Rohit Sharma in the ongoing ODI series against Australia.

According to Kaif, Gill must be feeling guilty while leading his predecessor, considering how the captaincy situation played out.

Ahead of the Australia tour, the 38-year-old Rohit was removed as ODI captain and the leadership baton was passed over to Gill. Kaif reckons believes that Sharma did not do much wrong to lose his position.

Gill’s ODI captaincy tenure began with two successive defeats against Australia, but Kaif was of the opinion that the young opener will take some time to get accustomed to the situation and this is a 'transition phase' for him.

"It takes time for any new captain, now, for Gill, he has Rohit Sharma, a proven leader, playing under him. Gill also knows that Rohit Sharma has not done anything wrong as a captain. He was removed from captaincy. When Gill goes to sleep in his hotel room, he must be thinking that Rohit bhai has not done anything wrong. He must be feeling the guilt inside, that people are backing me, but think about Rohit bhai, he did so well and won trophies, but even after that, he was removed, and I was named captain."

"So, considering everything fatigue, travel, playing so many matches on the trot, and having the task of captaining Rohit and Kohli, it will take time. This is a transition phase for Gill as ODI captain. Whenever he leads Rohit and Kohli, he will feel nervous. So this is a time where the runs are not coming from the bat, and we lost a bilateral ODI series, I don't even remember when we lost a bilateral series. So, all of this has happened under his captaincy, and this had to happen," Kaif said on YouTube.

Having lost the first two ODIs in Perth and Adelaide, India have conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead to Australia in the three-match series.

The Shubman Gill-led side will be keen to finish the series on a winning note during the third and final ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday (October 25).