Rohit Sharma will take part in Australia vs India ODIs starting on October 19.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced a 15-member ODI squad for the upcoming Australia tour. After taking over the Test leadership from Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill will captain India in ODIs too.
That being said, the leadership stints of Rohit, one of the Indian cricket stalwarts, have come to an end. However, the opener has already built a legacy while leading the national side for a limited period of time in the format.
Talking about the best-ever skipper of India, MS Dhoni is inarguably at the top with three major ICC titles to his name, including the inaugural T20 World Cup 2007, ODI World Cup 2011, and the Champions Trophy in 2013. Similarly, former captain Virat Kohli will always be remembered for the way he transformed the nation’s Test setup.
From the seventh rank to claiming the top spot just after a year, the modern-day great quickly shaped up the best-ever Test squad India has ever produced. Under his leadership, India retained the ICC’s No. 1 Test team ranking for an astonishing 42 months, from October 2016 to March 2020.
But coming into the 50-over format, it has to be the 38-year-old swashbuckling opener, who changed India’s approach in ODIs. After being appointed as the ODI skipper, Rohit led India to 42 victories in 56 matches, with a commendable win percentage of 75. Notably, it is the highest win percentage among the Indian skippers who have led the side in fifty-plus matches.
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Besides registering an impressive win/loss ratio as the ODI skipper of India, the opener’s batting statistics had also witnessed a massive shift since donning the captain’s hat. Earlier, Rohit had scored 8,662 runs in 217 matches, at an average and strike rate of 47.85 and 88.42. His average improved to 52.20, while the strike rate saw a huge rise to 111.97.
Furthermore, under Rohit’s captaincy, India registered a near-perfect unbeaten run in three consecutive ODI tournaments. Before claiming the Champions Trophy 2025 with an undefeated five-match streak, the Men in Blue had also won the T20 World Cup 2024 without dropping a single fixture. This remarkable feat marked the second T20 trophy for the nation and also ended India’s more than a decade-long drought for an ICC silverware.
But the only aspect that remained unfulfilled in the stalwart’s ODI captaincy stint could perhaps be the biggest one. After a dominating display and a dream run throughout the nine league-stage matches and the Semi-Final against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma & Co. had reached the closest to clinching the third ODI title, that too in front of the home crowd in 2023.
However, the appointment of Gill as the next skipper has dismissed the chances of Rohit completing the unfinished feat in the ICC CWC 2027.
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