Young Indian batter Shubman Gill on Saturday was appointed the captain of India’s ODI side, replacing Rohit Sharma. Notably, Rohit Sharma, along with Virat Kohli, has been retained in the squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia. Meanwhile, Gill already holds leadership roles in India’s Test setup, completing an alignment in both ODI and Test formats. Rohit Sharma, who had previously captained India across formats, officially announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year. While he had already stepped away from T20Is after leading India to the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph, he continued as ODI captain until now. BCCI chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar explained the reason behind the shift in leadership.
"It's practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats, just in terms of planning. Obviously, at some stage, you've got to start looking at where the next World Cup is," Agarkar said at the press conference.
"It's also a format which is played the least now. So you don't get that many games to actually give the next guy, or if there is going to be another guy, that much time to prepare himself or plan. And we're two years away still. That might look like a long time, but we don't quite know how many one-day games we might play," Agarkar added.
"But we don’t quite know how many one-day games we might play. Closer to the World Cup, we might end up playing a little bit more than what we have. But the last one-day game we played was in March at the Champions Trophy. And the next one we play is in October 19. So it is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket at the moment. Of course, the focus has been on T20 World Cup. But surely we’ll start planning for that World Cup to come. And it is very difficult to have three different captains for three formats in terms of not just selectors, but more importantly, even for the coach, to plan with three different people is never easy," he said.
Ever dependable all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was not picked in the squad for the Australia series, but Ajit Agarkar said he remains in the scheme of things.
"I mean, that’s the format they are at the moment playing (Virat and Rohit). We picked them, but as far as 2027 World Cup is concerned. I don’t think we need to talk about it today. Obviously, with the captaincy change, that’s generally the thought. With regards to Jaddu (Ravinra Jadeja), I mean, look, at the moment to take two left-arm spinners to Australia is not possible. He’s clearly in the scheme of things with how good he is. But there will be some competition for places. Of course, he was there in the Champions Trophy squad, because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there," Agarkar said.
At the moment, we could only carry one and get some balance in the team with Washi and Kuldeep there as well. And I don’t think we’re going to need more than that in Australia with spin. But he’s clearly in the scheme of things, Jaddu, with how good he is, what he offers us as a batter and a bowler, but particularly in the field as well. It’s a short series. You can’t accommodate everyone. And unfortunately, at the moment, he’s missing out. But it’s nothing more than that."