3 Reasons Why Shubman Gill Replacing Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI Captain Is the Wrong Move

Team India’s star batter Shubman Gill has officially been appointed as the new ODI captain ahead of the upcoming tour of Australia. The opener replaces Rohit Sharma as the team management has made a big statement about their vision and plan for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Shubman Gill was Team India’s vice-captain during their recent ODI series against England and also in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Amid strong talks about Rohit Sharma’s long-term future, the selection committee has made a clear decision by announcing this major change in leadership.

On that note, let’s look at three reasons why Shubman Gill replacing Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain is the wrong move.

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1. Leadership overload at an early stage could hurt his growth

Taking charge of a Test team in transition and an ODI team that has been dominant recently — both with little room for error — is a huge challenge for any player, even for a talented one like Shubman Gill.

Looking back, Virat Kohli didn’t lead in all formats until 2017, after nearly nine years of international experience. Rohit Sharma became all-format captain only in early 2022. MS Dhoni was an exception, but his rise to leadership came under very different circumstances.

While Gill has full backing from the team management and is seen as the future leader, handling captaincy across formats this early might backfire. He has started well as Test captain, both in terms of form and results, but giving him ODI captaincy so soon feels rushed. It would have been wiser to let him grow into the role gradually rather than burdening him with too much too soon.

2. Multi-format captaincy could make workload management harder

As India’s all-format leader and a key top-order batter, Shubman Gill will find it tough to get any rest. With crucial games in every format leading up to major ICC tournaments, there’s hardly a match where his presence won’t be needed.

Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, or Arshdeep Singh also play multiple formats, but they often get rest due to rotation or workload management. Gill, being both captain and premier batter, may not have that luxury.

If India push too hard to maximize his form as both batter and captain, it could lead to burnout or injuries. Considering the packed international schedule followed by the IPL, managing Gill’s workload carefully is essential — and all-format captaincy could make that nearly impossible.

3. India might have acted too soon

During the squad announcement, Ajit Agarkar mentioned that Shubman Gill would be given time to settle into the ODI captaincy before the 2027 World Cup. However, with over two years still left and around 27 ODIs to be played until the end of 2026, India had ample time to make the transition more gradual.

The decision to hand Gill the role now feels premature. He is already adjusting to Test and T20I leadership, and the selectors could have waited until he was more comfortable in those roles. While giving him time before a World Cup makes sense, doing it this early may be unnecessary.

In short, India may have pulled the trigger too soon — and the pressure could end up affecting both Gill’s form and his development as a long-term leader.

Team India squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia:

Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal.