On Saturday, October 4, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Shubman Gill as the new captain of the ODI team, succeeding the famous Rohit Sharma. Shubman’s rule will begin on October 19, when India travels to Australia for a three-match One-Day International series, followed by five Twenty20 Internationals.
Rohit Sharma had been India’s ODI captain since December 2021. He led the Men in Blue to the final of the ODI World Cup in 2023.
However, Rohit’s defining moment in the 50-over format came earlier this year, when he led India to the Champions Trophy victory.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes Shubman would face a new task when he leads the Asian powerhouse in the ODI format.
“Gill has been given more responsibility for leading the team in ODIs as well. Of course, this will be a new task for him. He has never done that before. Rohit has definitely been replaced as captain by Shubman, and Rohit has an excellent record in white-ball cricket. To be honest, it’s a little shocking news for me to see Rohit not being captain but still being selected,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.
I think he should have given that at least this tour: Harbhajan
Harbhajan highlighted Rohit’s past records and said that the Mumbai cricketer should have at least been retained as skipper for the tour of Australia.
“I thought if at all he was going to Australia, he would have been captain again. He just won the Champions Trophy and other tournaments as well, so I think he’s been one of the pillars of Indian cricket when it comes to white-ball cricket. So I think he should have given that at least this tour,” said Harbhajan.
The ODI and T20 World Cup winner also mentioned that there was enough time for the 2027 World Cup. He said that Shubman could have taken over the role in a year’s time.
“If you want to think of 2027 World Cup that’s still very far. Shubman Gill can obviously wait a little bit and probably take the team forward after maybe in 6 or 8 months or a year. There is still a lot of time for that. But yeah, I’m happy for Shubman, but at the same time I’m a bit disappointed for Rohit Sharma not being the captain,” Harbhajan concluded.
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