In a major shake-up ahead of India’s tour of Australia, Shubman Gill has been named the new captain of India’s One-Day International (ODI) team, replacing veteran skipper Rohit Sharma. The decision was announced by chief selector Ajit Agarkar during a press briefing in Ahmedabad on October 4, where the squads for both the ODI and T20I series were revealed.

Despite stepping down from the leadership role, Rohit Sharma remains part of the ODI squad and will feature alongside Virat Kohli, who is also returning to international cricket after a break following the 2025 IPL season. Both senior players last played competitive cricket earlier this year.

Agarkar explained the rationale behind the change, saying it was vital to ensure leadership continuity and long-term planning.

“You can’t practically have three different captains across formats and still maintain consistency. We also need to prepare early for the 2027 World Cup,” said Agarkar, shortly after India’s emphatic innings-and-140-run victory over West Indies in the first Test.

India will play three ODIs in Australia from October 19 to 25, followed by five T20Is from October 29 to November 8.
The selectors have also appointed Shreyas Iyer as the vice-captain of the ODI side.

Agarkar said that the board, team management, and selectors collectively decided to hand over the reins to Gill now so he could gain enough captaincy experience ahead of the next World Cup.

“One-day cricket is played less frequently these days, so there aren’t many opportunities to groom a new leader. We’re already two years away from the tournament, and even though that sounds far off, the ODI schedule is quite limited,” he explained.

India’s ODI Squad for Australia Tour:

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), Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Gill’s rise has been steady. Earlier this year, he took over India’s Test captaincy when Rohit Sharma retired from the format midway through the IPL. Under his leadership, India managed a 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, earning praise for his calm decision-making in a tough five-match series.

The young opener also served as vice-captain to Suryakumar Yadav during the Asia Cup, further solidifying his credentials as a future all-format leader.

Rohit, who had earlier been expected to lead in Australia, appears to have been phased out from the role after discussions with head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had recently retired from Test cricket ahead of the England tour, narrowing their focus to white-ball formats. The pair had earlier stepped away from T20Is following India’s World Cup victory last year.

Although there were questions about their availability for the Australia series, both players have been training hard — Rohit in Mumbai under Abhishek Nayar, and Kohli in London — signaling their intent to stay fit and competitive.

Rohit had previously dismissed retirement talks, insisting after India’s Champions Trophy triumph earlier this year that he had no plans to quit ODIs.

“There’s no plan for the future — things are going well, and I’m not retiring from this format,” he had said in Dubai, jokingly warning critics not to spread rumours.

However, their surprise Test retirements and partial IPL exits earlier this year prompted selectors to begin transition planning, paving the way for Gill’s elevation.

With this move, India appears to be charting a long-term roadmap — blending the experience of its legends with the leadership promise of its next-generation star.