Rohit Sharma was removed from the ODI captaincy and Shubman Gill was made the new captain. But now former Indian player Mohammad Kaif has dropped a major bombshell.
He said that Gill didn’t even want the ODI captaincy. This revelation comes amid criticism of the selectors for Rohit’s ouster. Kaif believes this decision was made in haste and could harm the team.
Kaif clearly stated 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.”
He also added that Rohit had the potential to captain until the 2027 World Cup. He’s worked on his fitness, he has experience, and everything was fine. But selector Ajit Agarkar put pressure on Gill so early.
Rohit Sharma’s ouster: Kaif expresses strong displeasure
Kaif expressed anger over Rohit’s underestimation of his contributions. He says Rohit led the team to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2024. Yet, he was stripped of the captaincy.
This decision could not only break Rohit but also create instability within the team. Kaif advised that the change would have been better if it had happened after the 2027 World Cup.
“This was expected, but I felt this would have happened 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.”
Now, the entire burden is on Gill. He is the captain in Tests, vice-captain in T20s, and now ODIs as well.
Kaif warned that giving Gill responsibility so early could impact his performance.
Heavy responsibility on Gill: What will be the impact?
Kaif said that Gill never demanded the ODI captaincy. Everyone knows he wasn’t ready yet. But the selectors pressured him.
“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.”
Gill’s ODI captaincy debut will be on the Australia tour. Three ODIs and three T20Is are scheduled to be played starting October 19th.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play under Gill. This tour will be a big test for the team.
