Agarkar explains Gill replacing Rohit as ODI skipper, speaks on Kohli's fitness : ‘You’ve got to start planning’

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said it was “practically impossible” for India to have a different captain for each of the three international formats after Shubman Gill succeeded Rohit Sharma as ODI captain on Saturday. Gill’s elevation as captain in the 50-over format came less than five months after he succeeded the ‘Hitman’ as India Test captain in May.

Rohit, meanwhile, was included in India’s ODI squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia along with fellow superstar Virat Kohli. The two stalwarts had last represented the Men in Blue in their Champions Trophy earlier this year in which Rohit led India to a second consecutive ICC title .

Gill now leads India in the Test and ODI formats and is the vice-captain in Twenty20 Internationals, where Suryakumar Yadav continues to lead the team. Senior batter Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, was rewarded for his consistency in the ODI format by being named captain Gill’s deputy .

‘You’ve got to start planning’

Speaking to reporters at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday after Gill and Co demolished West Indies in the first of two Tests by an innings and 140 runs, Agarkar admitted it wasn’t easy to remove 38-year-old Rohit from leadership after his phenomenal run, especially in the white-ball formats.

The former pacer, however, added that India also needed to give Gill enough time to settle into ODI leadership in the build-up to the next ICC World Cup that will be taking place two years from now in South Africa.

“It’s practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats in terms of planning. You’ve got to start planning. You also play it the least. We are two years away (from the next ODI World Cup),” Agarkar said after announcing India’s squads for the Australia tour.

“We don’t play as many games. It is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket. Focus has been on T20 World Cup. Surely we’ll start planning for the ODI World Cup. Gives the next guy enough time,” he added, reflecting on the fact that India don’t play as many 50-over matches unless there’s an ICC event approaching.

End of a golden chapter of Indian cricket

Rohit’s reign as captain, which began shortly after India’s first-round exit in the 2021 T20 World Cup, thus officially came to an end on Saturday. The Champions Trophy thus marks Rohit’s final assignment in a leadership role, with the ‘Hitman’ having been adjudged the Player of the Final for his match-winning 76.

Rohit thus signs off with 42 victories in 56 ODIs as captain, losing 12 during this period with one tie and a No Result each. His winning percentage of 75 is the best among Indian ODI captains with a minimum of 10 games in charge.

Agarkar, meanwhile, admitted that it would have been difficult to replace Rohit as ODI skipper even if the Men in Blue had not won the Champions Trophy, given his brilliant run that lasted a little over three years, during which he led the team to the final of the 2023 ICC World Cup at home.

“Even if India had not won the Champions Trophy, it would have been difficult. But you’ve got to look at what’s best for the team. It’s tough with one-day cricket. You want to take a call reasonably early to give the new guy enough time,” Agarkar continued during the presser.

No complaints with Rohit and Kohli’s fitness

Rohit and Kohli have not played any form of competitive cricket since the 18th IPL season, which concluded towards the end of May. Agarkar, however, mentioned that there were no complaints as far as the fitness of the two seniors was concerned, especially after the introduction of the Bronco test – an endurance test that is mainly used in rugby.

“They have both done their fitness tests. They’ve gone through the required norms that have been put in place. I haven’t heard anything beyond that.”

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Agarkar, however, remained non-committal on the possibility of Rohit and Kohli featuring in the 2027 ICC World Cup, at which point the ‘Hitman’ will be 40 years old with the latter touching 39. The chief selector also claimed that he had a conversation with Rohit regarding Gill taking over as the ODI leader, though he refused to divulge details of his chat with the senior opener.

What Agarkar did confirm during the press conference, however, was India’s opening combination in the 50-over format, with the Men in Blue sticking to the Rohit-Gill pair for now.

“At the moment, Rohit and Gill are likely to open. People tend to forget how good (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is. It’s not like a Test series where you can carry a few extras,” Agarkar said in response to a question on the possibility of drafting T20 sensation Abhishek Sharma into the ODI side.

Bumrah rested for Australia ODIs, Pandya to miss entire trip

Among the players missing from the ODI squad were pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. And besides the opening combination, Agarkar also confirmed Bumrah has been rested for the ODI leg of the Australia tour in order to manage his workload while Pandya will be missing the entire trip after suffering an injury recently that f orced him to miss the Asia Cup final against Pakistan .

“We’ve already rested him (Bumrah) for the one-day games. When we can manage his workload, we will do it. There is always a plan. We all know how important he is. We’ve also got to see the interest of the team. (Mohammed) Siraj bowls a lot of overs as well. We’ll end up having a lot of bowling to do. We’ll try and manage the seamers to minimise the risk of injury,” Agarkar said on Bumrah’s workload.

“At the moment he’s not going to be fit for Australia due to the injury he picked up before the finals of the Asia Cup. Once he starts his rehab, we’ll get a better idea of the timeline,” he added on Pandya’s absence.

Pant, meanwhile, has been sidelined since he had suffered a foot fracture during the fourth Test against England in Manchester. He had been included in the squad for the Champions Trophy, but the Men in Blue ultimately preferred KL Rahul over him, maintaining continuity from the 2023 World Cup.

Dhruv Jurel, who scored his maiden Test hundred in Ahmedabad on Friday and was also superb behind the wickets, has been named the reserve wicketkeeper in the ODI squad.

India’s T20I squad for the Australia tour, meanwhile, remains nearly unchanged. Nitish Kumar Reddy fills in for the injured Pandya in the seam-bowling all-rounder’s slot, while spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar is an additional inclusion.