The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee on Saturday (October 4) took a tough call of removing Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain

Despite leading India to the Champions Trophy triumph earlier this year, the 38-year-old was not considered for the leadership role when the selectors sit together to pick the ODI squad for the upcoming Australia tour.  

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.

Rohit Sharma continues to feature in the 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series in Australia, ensuring that experience remains integral to India’s transition.

However, former cricketer-turned-analyst Aakash Chopra reckons that Gill’s elevation to ODI captaincy signals the start of the preparation for the 2027 World Cup and there’s no guarantee that Rohit will play for India in the quadrennial event.

“Gill is the new captain of the Indian ODI Team. He is already the captain in Tests, vice-captain in T20Is and now the captain in ODIs. India were searching for an all-format captain and here it’s almost like signed and delivered. The preparation for the 2027 ODI World Cup has also begun. Gill will be the captain in the 2027 ODI World Cup,” Chopra said in a video posted on X.

“So what are the implications for Rohit Sharma? He has always played well. Won the Champions Trophy as captain and was player of the match in the final as well. But your name is first on the team sheet when you are the captain, and the team is prepared as per your thoughts. But when you become just one of the players, then all selection decisions are made in that context. How is your form?

“Of course, there’s experience and pedigree, but the truth is that if you are no longer the captain, then there’s no guarantee that you will see him playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup. Keep scoring runs, but if there’s a drought, then we don’t know. This is the reality. Shubman Gill’s era formally started in Indian cricket,” he further remarked.

Shreyas Iyer has been named Gill’s deputy for the Australia series, scheduled between October 19 and 25 in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne.

India's ODI squad for Australia tour: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.