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Once Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir made up their mind to invest in Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma couldn't do much
As Shubman Gill takes over India's ODI captaincy from Rohit Sharma, the decision reflects the selectors' confidence in the 25-year-old's leadership potential.
Not even Rohit Sharma will profess to the greatest surprise at being supplanted as India’s One-Day International captain, but when the official call was made on Saturday with a finality that will soon extend beyond just the loss of the captaincy, it still wasn’t easy to come to grips with.
A players’ captain if ever there was one, Rohit has a higher win percentage than anyone else who has led India in more than ten ODIs. Under him, India boast a 42-12 win-loss record in 56 outings. They ran the near-perfect campaign in the home World Cup in 2023 before succumbing to Australia in the final, while in his last assignment, Rohit muscled all-win India to the Champions Trophy crown in Dubai in March while grabbing the Player of the Final award for his peachy 76 against New Zealand.
From the all-conquering general until recently, Rohit will return to being a foot soldier when India travel later this month to Australia for a three-match series. The elevation of Test skipper Shubman Gill to the ODI leadership role is along expected lines, though one wasn’t sure if the succession plan would be implemented this swiftly. The next 50-over World Cup is two years away, but selection panel chairman Ajit Agarkar insisted that while 24 months is a long time, this is the format that is least played and therefore they felt that the sooner a new skipper was installed, the better it would be for the team and for Gill himself to grow into the role.
Agarkar also went to great lengths to point out that it was untenable to have three separate captains internationally – Asia Cup winner Suryakumar Yadav is in charge of the T20 team – for various reasons. The choice of Gill should raise no eyebrows; he has been Rohit’s deputy since the tour of Sri Lanka in July last year, showed that he can handle the twin challenges of captaincy and batting with aplomb by stacking up 754 runs in five Tests in England, and is among a handful of Indians with an ODI double-hundred. He is young enough not to be shackled mentally by multiple responsibilities – he is also the T20I vice-captain – or by having to constantly switch between formats despite a short turnaround time. Clearly, Gill is the flavour of the season, India’s all-format captain-in-waiting, the ODI crown placed on his head further affirmation that the decision-makers are convinced about his leadership credentials.
The challenge ahead for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli
Rohit, and Virat Kohli, seem to be on probation. Both play only one format on the international stage. The former is 38, the latter will turn 37 in a month’s time. They have been grand servants of Indian cricket for 18 and 17 years respectively, but given how infrequent 50-over internationals are, they will need to dig deep at this late stage of their respective careers to retain not just physical fitness and cricketing form but also the mental edge that has been their constant companion during their celebrated journeys. Indian cricket is replete with instances of superstars who have played only one format, but in no other case has that one format been merely the 50-over iteration. As unfair as it might sound, given the volume of work they have put in and the peaks they have scaled, the two stalwarts must keep proving that they continue to have what it takes to court success, because there is no shortage of options even if they aren’t as pedigreed and celebrated as the two champion right-handers.
Kohli rejuvenated India’s Test fortunes, especially overseas, but it was Rohit who transformed the team’s approach to both limited-overs variants. Setting the tone at the start of the innings by embracing all-out aggression even if it came with a high risk of failure, Rohit made sure he didn’t ask of his teammates what he himself wouldn’t do. It was natural that his approach rubbed off on his colleagues. During his time in the hot seat, India didn’t just win a lot, they also won with flair and chutzpah, they entertained and enthralled. To be able to court sustained success despite steadfastly sticking to the mantra of attacking play will remain the ultimate feather in Rohit’s cap.
If his millions of fans believe he didn’t deserve the sack – and let’s not mince words, that’s what this is – so soon after leading the team to a global title, it’s not without good reason. But once the selectors, and head coach Gautam Gambhir, made up their mind to invest in the Gill basket, the die was cast. The insulating safety net of captaincy no longer available, Rohit must grapple with a new challenge while being the mentor and the guide to his one-time protégé. How’s that for rapid role-reversal?
