Shubman Gill 'didn't want captaincy', BCCI 'snatched' it from Rohit Sharma: 'Ajit Agarkar and selectors pressurised him'

Within two months, Gill has been named India's Test and ODI captain, and as vice-captain in T20Is, is set to take over the reins from Suryakumar Yadav after next year's World Cup at home. While all this looks hunky dory from the outside, Kaif strongly believes that Gill was pressurised into being given the captaincy.

"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 the 2027 World Cup. However, the load falls on Gill. He's getting all of it in a hurry. It could also lead to a loss. When you get so much in such a short time, it could backfire," Kaif said in a video posted on his official YouTube channel.

"My point is that don't overburden him. He captains in Tests, bats at No. 4. He was made the vice-captain in the Asia Cup – will take over when Suryakumar Yadav steps aside. Now you've made him the ODI captain. I feel everything is being done in a hurry. A player never asks for captaincy. Everyone knows that 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 pressurised him."

'Rohit Sharma has lost his right hand'

Having known Rohit a long time and aware of how he functions, Kaif reckons the 38-year-old will no longer be the same. In his last match as captain, Rohit led India to the Champions Trophy; however, with the BCCI having 'snatched' the captaincy, in Kaif's words, Rohit's batting, which will resume from the three-match series against Australia starting October 19, is guaranteed to be affected.

"What wrong has Rohit Sharma done? It's very unfortunate that we didn’t get a long captaincy run from Rohit. Not even 4 years. A great batter, an outstanding leader and as captain, he could have had an even more impressive captaincy record. When you snatch captaincy, I feel that a player loses his right hand," mentioned Kaif.

Rohit Sharma, the opener and the leader, went hand-in-hand. Rohit doesn't score 100s in each match, but in big matches – 76 in the Champions Trophy final. He will now be judged match by match, series by series. It's an even playing field for everyone. I'm not sure whether he even wants to play now."

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