ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma likely to opt out of CT, successful India captain to take charge

India's captain Rohit Sharma might drop out of the team's squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. Rohit is currently going through poor batting form and was even dismissed cheaply in the first ODI against England played at Nagpur.

In Rohit's absence, it is possible that Hardik Pandya might lead Team India in the Champions Trophy despite Gill being the vice-captain. Gill is currently Rohit Sharma's deputy but Pandya has more leadership experience than him.

Also read: Virat Kohli to lead India again as Gautam Gambhir ready to dump Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma might opt out of the Champions Trophy

According to Dainik Jagran, Rohit Sharma might pull himself out of India's squad for the Champions Trophy if he doesn't perform well in the ongoing ODI series against England. Rohit had a tough time in the first match having scored just 2 off 7 balls in the first match.

If he decides to opt-out, Hardik Pandya will lead India in the tournament. Although Shubman Gill is in the squad as the vice-captain, Hardik's leadership experience can promote him to the leadership role.

बड़ी खबर यही है 😎........ #ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/bgBY0SNoww

— 𝔸𝕁𝔸𝕐 𝕁𝔸ℕ𝔾𝕀𝔻 (@iamajayjangirr) February 8, 2025

If Rohit decides to drop himself from Champions Trophy, it will be a big blow to India as he is one of their greatest white-ball openers. Despite not having form by his side, he remains the one of the best white-ball players to have played for the country.

Rohit Sharma's poor recent form

Rohit dropping himself out due to poor form isn't something that has not happened before. The Indian captain even opted out of the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy played in Sydney owing to his own poor form.

Rohit is not at his best since the beginning of India's home Test season when he scored just 133 runs in five Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The 38-year-old had an even tougher time in Australia where he scored just 31 runs in three Tests at an average of 6.20. Due to his poor form, he was forced to drop himself from the final Test played at Sydney.

When India's squad for the ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy was annouunced, Shubman Gill was appointed Sharma's deputy. However, he is unlikely to lead the team if Rohit doesn't make it.

Hardik Pandya to lead in his absence

Allrounder Hardik Pandya will lead India in Rohit's absence. Hardik previous experience of leading India in both the white-ball formats.

Hardik has led India in 16 T20Is and the team emerged victorious in 10 of those games. He has also led India to 2 wins in 3 ODIs. Apart from international cricket, Hardik has also taken Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title win.

Hardik was expected to takeover Rohit Sharma after the latter's retirement from the T20I format. However, the Indian team management led by the head coach Gautam Gambhir decided to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain.