Dubai: India’s Shubman Gill plays a shot during the Asia Cup 2025 final match between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai on Sunday, September 28, 2025. (Photo: IANS/Biplab Banerjee)
Ahmedabad, October 4 (IANS) Shubman Gill has been named as India’s ODI captain and replaces Rohit Sharma at the helm for the upcoming three-match series in Australia beginning on October 19.
Rohit has been named in the squad as a batter, as he and Virat Kohli are set to return to the ODI setup for the first time since the triumphant 2025 Champions Trophy campaign. The leadership transition marks a significant moment as Gill, named India’s Test captain earlier this year, is now entrusted with leading the ODI unit and is the vice-captain in T20Is.
His appointment shortly after he got victory in his first Test match as captain on Indian soil, as the side thrashed West Indies’ by an innings and 140 runs. Shreyas Iyer will be the vice-captain in ODIs, while Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant haven’t been picked due to them still in recovery from injuries to their quad and fractured right foot respectively.
Due to that, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel are in the ODI team, while Yashasvi Jaiswal has been picked and there’s no room for Ravindra Jadeja, while Jasprit Bumrah has been rested. Axar will be joined in the bowling department by Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna.
Bumrah, though, will be in the five-match T20I series, so as the rest of the side who won the Asia Cup in the UAE. Sundar, who was a stand-by for the Asia Cup, is in the main T20I team picked by the selection committee, who met in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Though Rohit and Kohli haven’t played any competitive cricket after IPL 2025, both have been steadily preparing for a busy block of ODI cricket action coming in next few months, as India are slated to host South Africa and New Zealand for three 50-over games each in November-December and January 2026 respectively.
Rohit had even come down to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for some work on his batting and fitness, while Kohli has been doing his preparation in London.
India’s white-ball tour of Australia starts with the ODI series opener on October 19 at Perth Stadium, and is followed by matches at Adelaide Oval and Sydney Cricket Ground on October 23 and 25 respectively.
It is followed by the five-match T20I series beginning on October 29 at Manuka Oval in Canberra, with further games to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 31, Bellerive Oval in Hobart on November 2), Gold Coast Stadium on November 6 and The Gabba in Brisbane on November 8.
The last time India toured Australia for a bilateral ODI series, the visitors’ lost by 2-1 margin in 2020/21, but managed to win the subsequent T20I series by the same margin on the same tour.
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
Impossible to have three captains for three formats: Agarkar on Gill's ODI captain appointment
India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar opined that it was ‘practically impossible’ to have three different captains across formats, which was the reason behind Shubman Gill succeeding Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain.
The Agarkar-led selection panel named India’s squads for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Australia and handed over the ODI captaincy to Gill while also naming Rohit and Virat Kohli in the squad.
Before the squad announcement, the Men in Blue had three different captains for each format, with Rohit heading the ODI side, Gill leading the Test team and Suryakumar Yadav in charge of the T20I setup.
However, Gill will now lead the team in both ODIs and Tests after being named Rohit’s successor. Asked about the 26-year-old’s white-ball captaincy, Agarkar, addressing the media at the press conference, said:
“It’s practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats in terms of planning. You’ve got to start planning. You also play it the least. We are two years away. We don’t play as many games. It is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket. The focus has been on the T20 World Cup. We will surely start planning for the ODI World Cup. Gives the next guy enough time.”
With Gill now looking after two formats and also being named Suryakumar’s deputy in T20Is, the Punjab-born is likely to feature in all the games across formats going forward. Speaking further on the possibility of Gill burning out, Agarkar added:
“Hopefully not. Still quite young. We saw what he did in England under immense pressure. Really positive signs there. We hope there’s no burnout. As team management, we try to manage it as best as possible. You’ve also got to give the guy enough time.
"He’s been the vice-captain in the ODI format for a while now. That’s how it works. What he’s shown in England was really positive signs, and we’re hopeful."
India’s tour of Australia will begin on October 19 with the three ODIs. the five-game T20I series will begin on October 29 and conclude on November 8.
