ODI Leadership Shift: Shubman Gill Takes Reins; Rohit, Kohli Return

AHMEDABAD- Shubman Gill has been named as India’s ODI captain and replaces Rohit Sharma at the helm for the upcoming three-match series in Australia beginning on October 19.

Rohit has been named in the squad as a batter, as he and Virat Kohli are set to return to the ODI setup for the first time since the triumphant 2025 ‘Champions Trophy’ campaign. The leadership transition marks a significant moment as Gill, named India’s Test captain earlier this year, is now entrusted with leading the ODI unit and is the vice-captain in T20Is.

His appointment comes shortly after his victory in his first Test match as captain on Indian soil, where the side thrashed West Indies’ by an innings and 140 runs. Shreyas Iyer will be the vice-captain in ODIs. Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant haven’t been picked as they are still in recovery from injuries to their quad and fractured right foot respectively.

Due to those absences, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel are in the ODI team, while Yashasvi Jaiswal has also been picked. There is no room for Ravindra Jadeja, while Jasprit Bumrah has been rested. Axar Patel will be joined in the bowling department by Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna.

Bumrah, though, will be in the five-match T20I series, as will the rest of the side who won the ‘Asia Cup’ in the UAE. Sundar, who was a stand-by for the ‘Asia Cup’, is in the main T20I team picked by the selection committee, who met in Ahmedabad on October 4.

Though Rohit and Kohli haven’t played any competitive cricket after ‘IPL 2025’, both have been steadily preparing for a busy block of ODI cricket action coming in the next few months, as India are slated to host South Africa and New Zealand for three 50-over games each in November-December and January 2026 respectively.

Rohit had even come down to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for some work on his batting and fitness, while Kohli has been doing his preparation in London. (IANS)