Shubman Gill breaks silence on snatching Rohit Sharma’s ODI captaincy

Newly-appointed India National Cricket Team ODI captain Shubman Gill has opened up on replacing Rohit Sharma at the helm ahead of the upcoming series against the Australia National Cricket Team.

Shubman Gill said that he is filled with pride and honour to be chosen as the captain of the Indian ODI team and will look forward to achieving great things with an exceptionally talented team.

Rohit Sharma's captaincy career is over

The captaincy era of Rohit Sharma is officially over as he has been removed as the ODI captain. Rohit had earlier stepped down from T20I captaincy following the T20 World Cup 2024 victory and from Test captaincy ahead of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.

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On both occasions, Rohit Sharma had also retired from the formats. In 2025, Rohit Sharma guided India to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and won the Player of the Match award in the final. That happened to be his last game as the captain of the Indian team in international cricket.

Overall, Rohit led India in 56 matches in ODI cricket, winning 42, losing 12, while 1 match ended in a tie and 1 had no result. He had an exceptional win percentage of 75 as an ODI skipper, which is the second best in the history of cricket behind Clive Lloyd's 76.2%.

Although Rohit has not retired from ODI cricket, the captaincy snub means that he no longer enjoys the privilege of being an automatic selection, and his performance will decide his fate in the team.

It is the biggest honour to lead your country in one-day cricket - Shubman Gill

Speaking on BCCI.tv for the first time after being appointed as the India ODI captain, Shubman Gill said that he is just hopeful of doing great things for the country.

"Difficult to put it in words, this state is very special for me — from captaining my IPL team, to being named Test captain, and leading my first Test at home — all of it happened here. This venue has always been very special for me,” Shubman Gill said.

“It is the biggest honour to lead your country in one-day cricket, and to lead a side that has done well...it is immense pride for me, and I hope I will be able to do great."

Also Read: ‘Wasn’t in favor of sending Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to Australia…’: Shocking details emerge on Shubman Gill’s ODI captaincy

Shubman Gill opens up on his ultimate goal

The newly-appointed India ODI skipper further said that his ultimate goal is to lead the team to glory in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027.

"I think we have about 20 ODIs before we play the World Cup, and that is the ultimate goal. So everything that we play and all the players that we play, they will try to play their best, and hopefully we will be ready before we go to South Africa and win the World Cup," he added.

The BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla provided a good backing to Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer and wished them continued success.

"Congratulations to @ShubmanGill and @ShreyasIyer15 on being appointed captain and vice-captain of the Indian ODI team. A proud moment that reflects their hard work and consistency. Wishing both continued success in their new roles. @BCCI," the BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said on X.

Meanwhile, the former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan hailed Rohit Sharma's legacy and backed Gill to take India to new heights.

"Dear @ImRo45 you have been a true leader of Indian cricket. You have impacted Indian cricket in many way,s but the change of approach since 2022 will remain inthe veins of Indian cricket forever. Goodluck @ShubmanGill for the captaincy in one day cricket too. I’m sure you will take Indian cricket to new heights," the former India all-rounder.