'Shubman Gill didn’t want ODI captaincy': Ex-India star drops bombshell on Rohit Sharma’s sacking
Published - 06 Oct 2025, 05:18 PM | Updated - 06 Oct 2025, 05:19 PM
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Mohammed Kaif spoke out about the sudden change in India’s ODI leadership. Kaif criticized the decision to remove Rohit Sharma as captain and suggested that Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar pressured Shubman Gill into taking the role far earlier than expected.
The former Indian batter expressed regret that Rohit was denied a longer stint as ODI captain despite an excellent stint and consistent performances as a batter in the format.
Mohammad Kaif questions Rohit Sharma’s removal as India's ODI captain
He believes that Rohit had the experience, fitness, and skill to lead the team effectively all the way to the ICC World Cup 2027.
Kaif also felt that removing Rohit from captaincy has not only undermined his contributions to Indian cricket but also created unnecessary instability in the team.
Notably, earlier this year, India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 under Rohit’s captaincy, which also saw the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph.
I feel Rohit Sharma loses his right hand: Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif said in a video on his YouTube channel, “What wrong has Rohit Sharma done? It's very unfortunate that we didn’t get a long captaincy run from Rohit—not even four years. A great batter, an outstanding leader, and as captain, he could have had an even more impressive record. When you snatch captaincy, I feel a player loses his right hand.”
Kaif said that the selectors should have waited until the ICC World Cup 2027 for the captaincy change. He added, “This was on expected lines, but I felt this would happen after the 2027 World Cup. The guy has quality, and he's also worked on his fitness. He had a realistic chance of playing in the 2027 World Cup.”
Mohammad Kaif raises alarm on Shubman Gill’s heavy workload across formats
The former Indian batter also raised concerns about Gill being overloaded. He pointed out that the Punjab lad is already leading India in Tests, serves as India’s T20I vice-captain, and now faces the added pressure of leading the ODI side as well.
Kaif warned that overburdening Gill so quickly could impact his performance and put unnecessary stress on a young player. The commentator also feels everything is being done in a hurry, as Gill never asked for the captaincy, especially in ODIs, at least at this stage.
He signed off by saying, “However, the load falls on Gill. He's getting all of it in a hurry. It could also backfire. When you get so much responsibility in such a short time, it could affect performance. Everyone knows he didn't want it. You can't demand it, but everyone seems to like him a lot and considers him a captain for the future. The selectors, including Ajit Agarkar, have pressured him.”
Well, Gill is all set to make his ODI captaincy debut on the upcoming Australia tour, and now Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play under the young skipper. India is scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is on the upcoming tour, starting on October 19 in Australia.
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