Shubman Gill was appointed India’s one-day international captain, replacing Rohit Sharma in a generational transition move on Saturday, October 4. The 25-year-old has been handed the baton with two years to go for the next ODI World Cup. Shubman Gill has been entrusted with the captaincy in Tests and ODIs and serves as deputy to Suryakumar Yadav in the shortest format of the game.
The star batter’s Shubman Gill rise to leadership roles has come under head coach Gautam Gambhir, but it was Rahul Dravid who recognised his leadership qualities before the rest of the world did.According to former India fast bowler RP Singh, Rahul Dravid had backed Shubman Gill to become India’s all-format captain as early as 2020-21. In a recent interaction with Sony Sports, Singh revealed that Dravid saw leadership potential in Gill even before the young batter became a regular across all formats.
Notably, before foraying into the senior side, Shubman Gill made his mark in age-group cricket. He was part of the 2018 U19 World Cup-winning team, captained by Prithvi Shaw and coached by Dravid. Shubman Gill finished as India’s leading run-scorer in the tournament, amassing 372 runs in five innings.
Shubman Gill, who made his ODI debut for India in 2019, went on to make his Test debut during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy before breaking into the T20I set-up in 2023. However, Shubman Gill first established himself in the Test side before cementing his place in the white-ball squads.
The Gambhir-led team management has shown great faith in Shubman Gill’s leadership abilities. After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from Tests midway through the IPL 2025 season, Shubman Gill was appointed Test captain. The Punjab batter shone in his maiden stint, leading India from the front in a 2-2 draw in the five-Test series in England. Shubman Gill let his bat do the talking, scoring over 700 runs in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Ajit Agarkar explains appointment of Shubman Gill as India’s ODI skipper
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar announced India’s ODI squad for the upcoming series in Australia, beginning on October 19. While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been picked as specialist batters, Gill will lead the one-day international side for the first time in his career.
Speaking after announcing the major decision, Agarkar said that Gill’s performances as Test captain in England influenced their decision for the one-day format as well.
“He (Gill) has been vice-captain in one-dayers for a while now. It’s not just about the England series – that was always the plan. Whenever there’s a succession, ideally the vice-captain should take over. What he showed in England were really positive signs,” Agarkar said.
Following on what Agarkar said, Former Indian cricketer now cricket expert Robin Uthappa believes that India will display different brand of cricket under Shubman Gill starting from the Australia series.
Robin Uthappa believes that India will display different brand of cricket under Shubman Gill
Former India batter Robin Uthappa said that he’s keen to witness the brand of cricket under new ODI captain Shubman Gill in the upcoming three-match series in Australia. The cricketer-turned-commentator predicts there’ll be a slight adjustment with former skipper Rohit Sharma set to play solely as a player.
Notably, Rohit went all guns blazing ever as an opener ever since the 2023 ODI World Cup. It remains to be seen whether India will continue to play aggressive cricket under Gill. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Robin Uthappa said:
“It will be interesting to see what kind of approach he takes to ODI cricket right now. What are the norms or standards that Shubman Gill sets for the ODI side. What brand of cricket do they wanna play, and I think there’ll be a slight adjustment there, especially with Rohit at the top with Shubman.”
“It also gives Shubman to kind of get into that space and kind of find himself, as far as the captain is concerned of this format as well. So, pretty interesting to see, I am looking forward to that Australia series,” he added.
With Shubman Gill set to take charge as the new ODI captain, Robin Uthappa believes that Rohit Sharma would gracefully accept the decision regarding the change in leadership. The 39-year-old further urged the senior batter to maximize his role with the bat, given that he only plays in the 50-over format like Virat Kohli.
The 2007 T20 World Cup winner said in the same video:
“Gracefully, and I think he understands. I think the conversation perhaps if the conversations had with him, I don’t think it would have happened without that… Go back to focusing on making sure he performs his role to the best of his ability and maximize his role because right now he also has the dearth of match practice for that matter, right?”
Uthappa further asked Rohit to continue his aggressive batting but advised him to take the foot off the accelerator when required, unlike what he did in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia. He concluded:
“I want him to be able to use the ebb and flow [take pedal off the accelerator] because the value of Rohit Sharma in the course of an ODI game is so immense that you don’t want to lose him, especially when the wickets are falling around him.”
“His effectiveness and his impact during the course of a game, especially a One Day game, the guy can turn a One Day game on its head, right? And I don’t think he’s a role player. I think he’s a match-winner… I don’t want him to play the anchor’s role,” he added.
Rohit Sharma scored 47 runs off 31 balls in the final against Australia. India lost the match by six wickets. The right-hander, however, emerged as one of the leading run-scorers in the tournament. He scored 597 runs in 11 innings, including a ton and three half-centuries. Since then, he has amassed 459 runs in 11 ODIs at an average of 41.73 with the help of one century and three fifties.
Shubman Gill will lead India for the first time in ODIs when the Men in Blue take on Australia in the opening match of the three-game series in Perth on Sunday, October 19. Before the ODIs in Australia, Shubman Gill will captain India in the second and final match of a two-Test series in Delhi, starting October 10.
Also Read: ENG vs IND : Shubman Gill Appointed Test Skipper For Red Ball