| Rohit loses ODI captaincy, Gill appointed captain keeping 2027 WC in mind | | | 
NEW Delhi, Oct 5: In a significant transition move, the Indian selectors on Saturday removed Rohit Sharma from ODI captaincy and expectedly handed over the reins to young Shubman Gill, keeping the 2027 World Cup in mind.
Rohit is the only skipper apart from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led India to three ICC white ball finals, winning ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy titles.
He had a runners-up finish at the T20 World Cup.
As an ODI skipper, he won 42 out of the 56 ODIs that he captain with a winning percentage of 76.
The selection panel’s move also underlines Gill’s transition as an all-format leader.
Rohit, though features in the 15-member squad for the upcoming Australia Tour along with other stalwart Virat Kohli as the selection panel chose not to fully sacrifice the experience.
Shreyas Iyer has been named vice-captain for the three-match series.
The ODIs are scheduled to be played in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne between October 19 and 25 and will be followed by a five-match T20 series.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ODI leg of the tour to manage his workload, while promising left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal has been recalled to the 50-over setup after a string of consistent performances in T20 internationals. Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Rohit has indeed been communicated about the change in captaincy but kept it open-ended when asked if both him and Kohli will play the 2027 ODI World Cup.
“Yes. I mean that is the format they are playing at the moment and we (have) picked them. As far as the 2027 (ODI) 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,” said Agarkar.
Asked how the now former skipper had taken the decision, the former pacer came up with a terse reply: “”I mean that is a conversation between me and Rohit or us (selectors) and Rohit. But like I said, of course, it has been communicated to him.”
Agarkar also made it clear that with very few ODIs being played now a days, it is impossible to look at three different captains as it hampers the general planning of the squad.
“Firstly, it’s practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats, just in terms of planning,” Agarkar said.
The 2027 World Cup is a huge part of this committee’s plan and Gill needs to be given time to settle down into the role.
“Obviously, at some stage, you have got to start looking at where the next World Cup is, 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.”
The ODI World Cup is still two years away but in terms of volume of games available, it is around 30 and simply playing one format would remain a challenge, feels Agarkar.
“We are still two years away, it might look like a long time, but we don’t quite know how many one-day games we might play (and yet) closer to the World Cup we might end up playing a little bit more than what we have.
“But the last ODI we played was 8th or 9th of March in Champions Trophy and the next one we play is in October 19th, 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 slowly we will start planning for that World Cup to come, so it gives the next guy enough time to plan with whatever games that we have coming (up).”
Agarkar also said that he has “no knowledge” if Australia tour would be Rohit and Kohli’s last in India colours.
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