India squad announcement for Australia Tour Live: BCCI to remove Rohit Sharma as ODI captain; Shubman Gill to succeed

Speaking of Kohli, the former India captain was at his best in the Champions Trophy, scoring a century against Pakistan. He backed the performance up with an 80+ score in the semi-final against Australia. On the other hand, Rohit regained his mojo in the final of the eight-team tournament, playing a match-winning knock against New Zealand in the summit clash.

Rohit's ODI captaincy will be up for discussion during the selection meeting; however, from the outside, it appears that there's no solid reason for taking the leadership role away from him unless he himself wants to concentrate on his batting. The two senior statesmen have made their intentions clear about participating in the 2027 ODI World Cup; however, the final call remains with the current selectors and team management, who have not shied away from making tough decisions.

It also remains to be seen whether the selectors pick Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah for the ODI series, considering the duo have been playing non-stop cricket since the Asia Cup 2025 edition. The duo is part of the ongoing Test series against the West Indies, and there will be a very short turnaround period between the second Test against the Windies and the first ODI against Australia.

If Gill is rested for the ODI series, then selectors would have to pick an opening batter, and in such a scenario, Abhishek Sharma might be favoured, considering the form he showed in the Asia Cup. However, Abhishek would be in for a tough fight with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Abhishek was earlier asked to play the second and third ODIs against Australia A. However, the left-hander got out for a duck in the second ODI. Abhishek's left-arm spin bowling and current form definitely give him an edge over Jaiswal.

Sanju Samson, with a strike-rate of nearly 100 and an average of 55 plus across 14 ODIs, might also edge out Dhruv Jurel for the second wicketkeeper's slot as KL Rahul is all set to start in the playing XI.

Click here to read article