Former Indian cricketer and current chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained his rationale behind Shubman Gill replacing Rohit Sharma as India`s next ODI captain. Rohit Sharma had been sensational as a leader for India and also won the Champions Trophy in his last assignment as captain.
However, Agarkar shed light on how they need to look at the future and also how they cannot have three different captains for three formats. The former cricketer also spoke about how less ODIs India will play before the 2027 ODI World Cup and how they soon need to start planning for the marquee event.
Here`s what Ajit Agarkar told reporters about the captaincy shift from Rohit Sharma to Shubman Gill:
“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 [ODIs] the least. We are two years away [2027 World Cup]. 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. It gives the next guy enough time.”
Agarkar is hopeful that leading the Indian team in multiple formats will not cause any kind of burnout to Shubman Gill. On this, he 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 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.