Overview:
Singh said that Rohit should have been allowed to lead in Australia before leaving the captaincy.
Harbhajan Singh was shocked when he heard about Rohit Sharma’s sacking from ODI captaincy before the tour of Australia, with the BCCI deciding to move forward with Shubman Gill in the 50-over format as well. While Bhajji lauded Shubman Gill for his captaincy in Test cricket, he was taken aback by the decision to remove Rohit.
“Congratulations to Shubman Gill. He has been leading the team well in Test cricket,” Harbhajan Singh said. It is going to be a different challenge for him,” he added.
“Rohit Sharma has an impressive track record in white-ball cricket. It is shocking to see him not being the skipper,” he mentioned.
Harbhajan also highlighted Rohit’s consistency and achievements, including the team’s win in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. “He would have been a captain as he is going to Australia. He is one of the pillars of Indian cricket in white-ball cricket.”
Singh said that Rohit should have been allowed to lead in Australia before leaving the captaincy. “Shubman Gill can wait and take the command of the team after 6-8 months or a year. There is still time left in the 2027 ODI World Cup,” he noted.
However, Harbhajan is happy with Gill’s growth. “I am happy for Gill, but disappointed that Rohit is not the captain. He has a lot of experience in leading the team.”
Rohit has been leading India since 2021. He captained the Men in Blue in 56 ODIs, winning 46 games, losing 12, one game ended in a tie, and one had no result.
India’s ODI squad for Australia series: 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.