BCCI’s recent announcement where they named Shubman Gill as the new ODI captain over Rohit Sharma was quick to draw a wave of reactions from netizens on the internet. The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) national selectors led by Ajit Agarkar made the announcement in Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat shortly after India sealed its first test victory of the series against West Indies.
Following the announcement many cricket fans across the country questioned the decision to pick Shubman over Rohit, despite the latter leading India to the Champions Trophy title the last time the Men in Blue played an ODI.
How did fans react?
Multiple fans took to the internet to announce their displeasure with BCCI’s recent announcements that attached less prominence to senior players like Rohit Sharma and Ravindera Jadeja, where Rohit was stripped of his captaincy whereas Jadeja was not named in either of the squads.
Several netizens passed comments offering praise in the form of a tribute to India’s former ODI captain, highlighting Sharma’s key accomplishments.
India’s former captain, Sunil Gavaskar also commented on the change, saying that it’s good that senior players and captains are present on the field to pass the baton to relatively young captain as Shubman Gill.
“Rohit Sharma’s inputs will be there, Kohli’s inputs will be there with Shubman Gill, because it’s not a question of anything to do with the individual and his competency to make critical decisions, it’s a question of the pride you get playing for your country,” Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.
Despite the former captain’s optimism for the new dawn of Indian ODI cricket, multiple fans felt that the BCCI’s decision was ‘disrespectful’. The fans highlighted the fact that the upcoming 2027 world could be Sharma’s last world cup and stipulated that stripping Sharma of his captaincy right before the mega tournament comes off as a really’ insulting’ move targeting a veteran player.
“If you’re not going as captain, then just announce your retirement. There’s no need for you to keep playing like this. You’ve already achieved so much that no one else will ever be able to match,” a user posted on X, urging Sharma to withdraw from the squad and announce his retirement.
Meet the team
Giants of Indian cricket Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be part of the ODI squad for India’s upcoming Australia series. Shreyas Iyer will play as a vice-captain for the series. The series will see three ODIs and five T20Is India vs Australia games scheduled from October 19 to November 2.
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), 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.
India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.