Former batter Aakash Chopra has voiced his thoughts amid the rumors that Shreyas Iyer may be named the Indian cricket team's ODI skipper. Shubman Gill has been selected to lead India in the format, he asserted. Following Rohit Sharma's retirement from Test cricket, Gill was appointed India's Test captain.

Both as captain and as a batter, the 25-year-old was instrumental in the team's 2-2 draw in England this year. For the forthcoming Asia Cup, he has also been selected as India's T20I vice-captain.

Shubman Gill was India’s ODI vice-captain in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, and hence Chopra believes he will take over captaincy duties once Rohit Sharma calls it quits.

"Good question, because the rumor mill is active. It was said that Shreyas Iyer would become the captain, that he would pip Shubman Gill to the post. Sir, where do you get it? In my opinion, the next (ODI) captain has been decided without a formal appointment. It has been decided that it would be Shubman Gill.

He is the test captain. He has been made T20I vice-captain, maybe not out of turn as they had a logic, but Axar Patel hadn't done anything wrong, and no one felt that the spot would automatically go to him, and you could have argued against it as well. If he has been made the T20I vice-captain, he is already the ODI vice-captain. So don't ask the question. Shubman Gill is going to be the next captain,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Chopra also compared the captaincy skills of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer and shared his thoughts on who is the better candidate for India’s ODI captaincy.

"It's very difficult to say because the job Shreyas has done has been absolutely outstanding. He won KKR the final and took Punjab to the final. I think he could have been the next in line for captaincy, but Shubman Gill's records are not bad either. He took the Gujarat Titans to the playoffs in his second year and drew the Test series in England," the former India batter said.

"He is also someone who leads by example, leading from the front, and who scores runs. A leader doesn't ask you to do what he says. A leader says, 'Do as I do.' So, you set the example, and Shubman Gill does that job. I am not going to choose one. Shreyas Iyer is a phenomenal skipper, but Shubman Gill is not bad either," he added.

India’s next ODI assignment will be on the tour of Australia in October.