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Rohit Sharma has been removed from captaincy in the ODI format, with Shubman Gill taking over. Is Sharma the best ever captain India had in white-ball cricket?
In a significant development, the BCCI has decided to remove Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian ODI team. The role has been handed over to the current Test skipper, Shubman Gill.
While addressing the press after the announcement, the Chief Selector of India, Ajit Agarkar, pointed out the fact that while Rohit was excellent as a captain, they wanted to allow the next person enough time to be ready by the 2027 World Cup. Also, the BCCI was looking ahead and was trying to appoint a skipper who would lead the team for a significant amount of time in the future.
This, in turn, brings an end to one of the brightest captaincy eras in Indian cricket. Rohit Sharma leaves the role after leading the team to a win in the Champions Trophy 2025. However, an ODI World Cup would not be there in his cabinet as a captain. But given the numbers and the consistency the team showed under his leadership, a question automatically arises: Was Rohit Sharma the best-ever white ball captain of India?
Digging through the numbers
Rohit’s ODI captaincy record looks impeccable. He led the team in 56 matches and won 42 of them - a win percentage of 75%. This is the best among the Indian captains who have led India in more than 50 matches. In T20Is, he finished with 49 wins from 62 matches. The number of wins is the most for any Indian captain in the format.
MS Dhoni is often considered the gold standard in India when it comes to captaincy. Dhoni led the Indian team in 200 ODIs and won 110 of them - a win percentage of 55%. In T20Is, Dhoni had won 42 matches out of 72 as captain. However, it is the trophies that actually define Dhoni’s era - the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy. In case of win percentage, Rohit Sharma is way ahead, but in terms of trophies, Rohit has the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy under his belt; however, the ODI World Cup is absent.
Captain | ODI as captain | ODI W–L (Win%) | T20I as captain | T20I W–L (Win%) | Global white-ball titles (as captain) |
| MS Dhoni | 200 | 110–74 (55%) | 72 | 42–28 (58%) | 2007 T20 WC, 2011 WC, 2013 CT |
| Virat Kohli | 95 | 65–27 (68%) | 50 | 30–16 (60%) | — |
| Rohit Sharma | 56 | 42–12 (75%) | 62 | 49–12 (79%) | 2024 T20 WC, 2025 CT |
However, under Rohit Sharma, India have been nearly perfect in the ICC events. They have won 27 matches while losing only three in the ICC trophies with Rohit as the captain. This stands as the best win-loss ratio for captains who have led their team in at least 15 matches and across three ICC events. Besides, in terms of wins in the ICC events, Rohit (27) is the third after MS Dhoni (41) and Ricky Ponting (40). In the last three ICC events, India have lost only one match, but unfortunately, it was the final of the 2023 ODI WC against Australia, which ultimately kept the ODI WC away from Rohit’s grasp.
Notably, it was Rohit Sharma who ended India’s drought of 11 years for the ICC trophies. After winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 under MS Dhoni, India did not win an ICC title till the 2024 T20 World Cup. It was as if a jinx was broken as India soon managed to win the 2025 Champions Trophy in Rohit Sharma’s leadership.
Verdict
Efficiency and dominance: Rohit Sharma. His achievement list as a skipper is long - best win percentage in ODIs for India, most T20I wins by an Indian captain, back-to-back ICC Trophies in 2024-25.
All-time legacy (volume + era-defining trophy cabinet): MS Dhoni. Three distinct ICC white ball titles across formats, a decade of stewardship, and the record of 200 ODI games at the helm.
If you are searching for a skipper under whom India looked invincible and dominated the sports, then your ‘best ever’ is for sure Rohit Sharma. However, if you are looking for a skipper who made India a world force, taught them to win major titles, and groomed the future generation perfectly, then your ‘best ever’ is MS Dhoni.
