Agarkar dismissive about Rohit, Virat's swansong in Australia; explains rationale behind Gill's promotion to ODI captaincy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remained rational in its decision to move on from the seasoned swashbuckler Rohit Sharma and pass on the captaincy baton to young Shubman Gill, who has already been appointed as the Test skipper.

Just eight months ago, Rohit led India to Champions Trophy glory in Dubai; however, as it stands, the fabled story of success had no role in the removal of the 38-year-old from the leadership heirloom. According to chief selector Ajit Agarkar, even if Rohit had returned empty-handed from the UAE in March, it still would have been a testing decision to appoint a new skipper.

"Even if he had not won the Champions Trophy, it would have been a difficult decision because of how good he has been for India. However, you sometimes have to look at what's coming forward, where you stand as a team, and ultimately consider what's in the best interest of the team. Whether it's now or maybe six months later, those are the calls that I suppose we have to put in place to make," Agarkar said in a press conference.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma dropped as ODI captain as Shubman Gill takes charge for Australia series, Shreyas Iyer returns as deputy

The upcoming three-match ODI series in Australia will mark the commencement of India's preparations for the 2027 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. By the time the showpiece event approaches, Rohit will be 40, and his long-time compatriot Virat Kohli will turn 38.

With the age factor, clouds of uncertainty are looming over the involvement of the Indian bigwigs in the marquee tournament. While several have widely speculated that Rohit and Virat could have their last dance in Australia, Agarkar quickly dismissed the rumours.

"Not as far as I know. I think they have both done their fitness tests or the fitness norms that have been suggested. As far as I know and the selectors know, they have gone through the required norms that have been put in place. I haven't heard anything other than that. Generally, before selection, we give names out to the CoE (Centre of Excellence), who tells us about the fitness status of all the players. Everyone who has been picked has been declared fit and available," Agarkar said.

"That's the format they (Virat and Rohit) are at the moment playing, we picked them as far as the 2027 World Cup is concerned. I don't think we need to talk about it today. Obviously, with the captaincy change, that's generally the thought," he added.

Before Rohit's dismissal from the 50-over format, India had three different captains for each format. Agarkar outlined the logistical conundrum of operating with three different skippers, especially for the ODIs, a format that is slowly losing its prominence to the fleet-footed T20Is.

"Firstly, it's practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats, just in terms of planning. Obviously, at some stage, you have to start looking at where the next World Cup is. It's also a format which is played the least now. You don't get that many games to actually give the next guy, or if there is going to be another guy who doesn't have that much time to prepare himself or plan. We are two years away still," he said.

Apart from the intricate decision of sticking with Rohit or moving on two years before the marquee event, Agarkar wanted the new successor, Gill, to have enough time to build up his confidence and lead the Indian team in another format, apart from Tests.

"Like I said, it's tough with one-day cricket at this point. Because if you are going to make that call, you want to try and make it reasonably early and give the other guy enough chance to try and get that confidence of leading another format. So, that was the idea. But it's always tough. Someone who has been very successful, you have to make that decision," he added.

India's ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.