India now have three different captains for each format
As the Indian team is set to enter the era of split captaincy across three formats for the first time ever, a report by Hindustan Times revealed that Shubman Gill could’ve most likely succeeded Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain after the Champions Trophy 2025 triumph.
The BCCI had always appointed a single captain for all format since MS Dhoni who was succeeded by Virat Kohli, who then stepped down from his role and was succeeded by Rohit.
Rohit had announced his retirement from T20Is soon after lifting the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies along with Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. That opened the door for Suryakumar Yadav to lead the T20I side after the famous triumph.
Meanwhile, Rohit announced his retirement from Tests last month in the middle of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 which led to Shubman Gill replacing him as the new Test captain, starting with the five-match Test tour of England.
Rohit, however, has stayed captain of the ODI side and had also clarified that he is not retiring soon after leading India to the 2025 Champions Trophy.
“I am not going to retire from this format. Just to make sure there are no rumours spread moving forward. Thank you so much,” Rohit had said after the final against New Zealand.
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However, a source in BCCI said that the Board had expected another triumphant retirement from the 38-year-old in Dubai.
“Quite frankly, a lot of us thought Rohit wanted to move away from the ODI format after winning the Champions Trophy. There have been no discussions between Rohit and the selectors over his ODI future,” the BCCI source told Hindustan Times.
Even though the chance to groom Rohit’s Test captaincy successor didn’t happen and the next best candidate Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t considered due to his injury history, Gill was already elevated to vice-captaincy in ODIs for the Champions Trophy 2025.
According to the report, the BCCI selection committee is set to zero in on Rohit’s successor as the new season kicks off. India are set to play three ODIs against Bangladesh in August followed by three matches in Australia in October. Following the white-ball tour, they will host South Africa in three ODIs in November.
While Gill is the most likely candidate, the BCCI are also looking at Shreyas Iyer following his stunning run in domestic competitions with Mumbai and in the IPL 2025 as the skipper.
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