The national selection committee, led by chief of selectors Ajit Agarkar, have elevated Shubman Gill as the captain of the Indian ODI side ahead of India’s tour of Australia later this month. Agarkar had said that they wanted to give new captain Gill plenty of time to get in the ODI captaincy frame of mind before the ODI World Cup in 2027. Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh was one of the players who was “shocked” at the decision. “First of all, congratulations to Shubman Gill. Obviously, he has been leading the team well in Test cricket and now, he has been given another responsibility to lead the team in ODIs as well. Of course, it's going to be a new challenge for him. He hasn't done that before. Talking about Rohit being replaced as a captain by Shubman, Rohit is someone who holds a very good record in white ball cricket. I think, to be honest, it is a little bit shocking news for me to see Rohit not being captain. And once he was selected, I thought, if at all he was going to Australia, he would have been captain again. Rohit just won the Champions Trophy and other tournaments before as well as ODI captain. He has been one of the pillars of Indian cricket when it comes to white ball. I think he should have given at least another chance. If you want to think of the 2027 World Cup, that's still very far for Shubman. Probably, take the team forward after maybe six months or eight months or a year. There's still a lot of time for that. I'm a bit disappointed for Rohit Sharma not being the captain,” Harbhajan Singh said on JioHotstar after hearing Ajit Agarkar’s press conference at the Narendra Modi Stadium, right after India defeated West Indies in the first Test. India T20I, ODI Squads Vs Australia 2025 Announcement Live Updates Under Rohit Sharma as captain of the ODI team, the Indian side played 56 matches, winning 42 which is a win percentage of 76. “It’s my personal opinion that if you are selecting him, select him as the captain because he has just won the Champions Trophy. So, Shubman has a lot of time in his hands. I am happy for him that he has got this opportunity to lead the team. But things could have been delayed for a little bit longer. Despite this, you won't see any change in the approach of Rohit Sharma as a batter. Probably, as fearless as we have seen him, so is Virat Kohli. Two top gun players will still be playing in this format and we are all looking forward,” Harbhajan Singh added. Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel also weighed in on the decision, stating that demoting Rohit Sharma had little to do with his own captaincy. He said that the decision to elevate Gill to captain of the Indian team was a “progressive call”. “I think replacing Rohit Sharma as captain has nothing to do with Rohit Sharma's performance as a captain. We have seen how well he has led the side, be it Champions Trophy, be it the 50-over World Cup. He has always been a visionary captain, especially after what happened in the T20 World Cup against England. He had to start giving that kind of approach to the team, the attacking approach. That's where you have to give surety to all the players and that stability which is required, it has to come from the top and that was given by Rohit Sharma, the captain. And as far as the approach is concerned, you have to lead from the front. You have to be fearless and Rohit Sharma was the one who said, I will be the first one to lead and if I get out, that's fine. But I want everyone to play the way I am playing and that is the reason why Indian cricket is in the state in white ball cricket that it is in right now. The fearless approach we have been talking about. So to me, it is a futuristic call and it is a progressive call in terms of when you talk about the 2027 World Cup,” Patel said.
