India’s cricketing landscape saw a significant change as “Shubman Gill, India’s Test captain, was announced as the captain of the ODI side for the Australia tour on Saturday (September 4).” This decision followed Rohit Sharma’s earlier retirement from Test cricket, with Gill stepping up as the new red-ball leader.
Ajit Agarkar, chairman of selectors, confirmed the news in a press conference right after India’s victory over West Indies in the first Test at Ahmedabad. Gill, who served as vice-captain during India’s Champions Trophy triumph under Rohit Sharma, now takes the full charge.
Alongside this, “Shreyas Iyer was elevated as the vice-captain of the ODI side.” While Iyer gained a leadership role in the 50-over format, he was not included in the T20I squad. India’s schedule includes three ODIs starting October 19 in Perth, followed by five T20Is beginning October 29 in Canberra.
Senior Players Return and Key Absentees
The squad announcement marked the return of two veterans as “Rohit, the captain of that side, returned to the ODI set-up but only as a player. Another stalwart, Virat Kohli, too, was an automatic choice for the ODI side.”
Both players had earlier retired from T20Is and Tests, restricting themselves to ODIs alone. Agarkar revealed that Rohit was already informed about the captaincy shift despite leading India to the Champions Trophy. On the other hand, several big names missed out.
“Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was rested from the three-match ODI series but he was included for the five T20Is.” All-rounder Hardik Pandya was ruled out due to an injury sustained in the game against Sri Lanka, while Rishabh Pant continues to recover from a fractured foot.
A notable decision was that “Jadeja, however, was dropped from the side as the selectors decided to go with Axar Patel as their lead spin-bowling all-rounder.” Washington Sundar returned to the ODI setup, while opener Yashasvi Jaiswal also found a place as backup, though Agarkar confirmed that Rohit would continue to open with Gill.
Squad Composition and New Inclusions
India’s ODI squad will be led by Shubman Gill with Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return as senior players. Others include Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The T20I team has Suryakumar Yadav as captain and Gill as vice-captain, joined by Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar, Jitesh Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep, Kuldeep, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
Hardik Pandya’s injury opened the door for Nitish Kumar Reddy, while “KL Rahul is guaranteed to keep wickets in ODIs” with Dhruv Jurel as backup over Sanju Samson. Ravindra Jadeja was dropped for Axar Patel, and Bumrah was rested from ODIs but kept in T20Is. These moves highlight India’s focus on balancing senior players with new talent for the future.
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