Shubman Gill is now India’s one-day captain. At 26 he already leads in the 50-over game, serves as vice-captain in Tests and is front-and-centre of most long-term planning meetings. Even so, the television trailers for the forthcoming ODI series in Australia lean on another face: Virat Kohli’s. Rohit Sharma, too, appears in highlight montages. The new era has begun, yet the previous one refuses to step aside.
First, the numbers. Across 56 completed ODIs under Rohit, India won 42 and lost 12. That yields a win-loss ratio of 3.500, wedged neatly between Clive Lloyd’s West Indies (3.555) and Ricky Ponting’s Australia (3.235). Both of those sides lifted consecutive World Cups; Rohit’s men did not, falling one short in Ahmedabad in 2023. Still, turning up in the same statistical postcode as those two giants says plenty.
Gill inherits that record, plus a squad brimming with depth. The selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar has, however, made it plain that change is coming. “Too early to think about 2027 ODI World Cup,” Agarkar said, hinting that every spot is open to review. A few days earlier Aakash Chopra admitted, “Didn’t see Gill’s appointment coming this soon.”
Kohli and Rohit remain in the ODI group for the Australian trip. The logic is simple enough: each is still scoring runs, each is an all-time great in the format, and neither has given evidence that their powers have deserted them. Agarkar explained the balancing act last week: “It’s practically impossible to have three different captains for three different formats.” Hence Gill commands ODIs, Rohit keeps hold of the Test side, and Hardik Pandya continues in T20s – at least for now.
Replacing Rohit the opener is more complicated than swapping names on a team sheet. India can turn to Abhishek Sharma or Yashasvi Jaiswal, both dynamic left-handers, but blasting a new white ball for 20 overs in a T20 is not the same as shaping an ODI innings, often against two brand-new Kookaburras. Gill will also have to work out how many overs he wants from part-time spin, where to place the power surge through the middle and when to risk an extra slip. Captaincy in this format is still a craft as much as a spreadsheet, whatever the analysts’ dashboards insist.
At No. 3 the problem is even starker. In run-chases over the last decade India have grown accustomed to Kohli absorbing risk, rotating the strike at almost a run-a-ball and leaving scope for a flourish down the line. The younger options – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, perhaps even a returning Shreyas Iyer – own tidy List-A numbers, yet none has shown they can recreate that mixture of urgency and calm on the international circuit.
For Gill, then, the task is two-fold. Short-term, he must coax a familiar side towards another ICC event inside 18 months: the 2026 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, if it takes place on schedule. Long-term, he is steward of a transition that will happen, whether by design or attrition.
India’s cricket economy supplies him with enviable resources: an academy-style National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, a domestic season that throws up new seamers every few months, plus an IPL that tests temperament in front of 60,000 people. Yet big names can crowd the space. Remember how long Sachin Tendulkar’s shadow extended? Rohit and Kohli cast a comparable one.
Gill’s leadership style, judging by his stints with Gujarat Titans and Punjab in age-group cricket, is understated. He prefers a quick word rather than a huddle that lasts an age. Friends say he spends evenings on match-ups and game scenarios, though he rarely advertises it. Whether that approach fits an Indian dressing-room still leaning on two senior statesmen will be clear soon enough.
For now, Gill seems relaxed. After the appointment he offered a single-sentence social-media post thanking “those who have paved the way”. That feels about right. The way has been paved, yet the road ahead contains potholes. Kohli and Rohit are still around, still scoring, still marketable. They can help. They can also complicate.
That, in essence, is Gill’s inheritance: towering numbers, immense talent, and just a hint of turbulence.
