In a major development for Indian cricket, Shubman Gill, who recently took over as India’s Test captain, has now been appointed captain of the ODI side for the upcoming Australia tour, the BCCI announced on Saturday.
The decision, marking a new phase in India’s leadership transition, follows Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket earlier this year. The announcement was made by Ajit Agarkar, Chairman of Selectors, during a press conference shortly after India’s victory over West Indies in the first Test at Ahmedabad.
Shreyas Iyer has been named vice-captain of the ODI squad, though he remains out of the T20I setup. India will play three ODIs in Australia starting October 19 in Perth, followed by a five-match T20I series beginning October 29 in Canberra.
Gill, who served as vice-captain during India’s Champions Trophy-winning campaign, will now lead the side with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returning as senior players. Both veterans, who retired from T20Is and Tests, will feature exclusively in ODIs going forward.
Agarkar confirmed that Rohit was informed of the decision to relieve him of ODI captaincy despite his recent success leading India to the Champions Trophy title.
Squad Changes and Key Absentees
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ODIs but will feature in the T20I series, with next year’s ICC World Cup in focus.
All-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, will miss the Australia tour. Pandya suffered an injury during the final group-stage match against Sri Lanka, while Pant is still recovering from a fractured foot. Jadeja was dropped, with Axar Patel preferred as the lead spin-bowling all-rounder.
Washington Sundar and Yashasvi Jaiswal return to the ODI setup, though Agarkar clarified that Rohit Sharma will open alongside Gill, with Jaiswal as backup. Hardik Pandya’s place has been filled by Nitish Kumar Reddy in both the ODI and T20I squads.
With Pant unavailable, KL Rahul will handle wicketkeeping duties in the ODIs, while Dhruv Jurel has been chosen as the backup keeper, preferred over Sanju Samson for his middle-order batting ability.
There are no major changes in the T20I side that recently clinched the Asia Cup title.
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.
India’s T20I Squad for Australia Tour:
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), 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, Washington Sundar.
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