"Bit of a shock...": Harbhajan on Gill appointed as Rohit's successor in ODI captaincy for Australia tour

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 4 (ANI): Following the appointment of Shubman Gill as the new ODI captain for the tour of Australia, a former Indian cricketer expressed surprise at Rohit Sharma being removed from the leadership post, saying that the 'Hitman' could have been allowed to continue as skipper for this tour and the young Gill could have been given a few more months before taking over as captain.
Shockwaves were sent around the cricketing world as Rohit, fresh after winning two back-to-back white-ball trophies for India, the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy this year, following a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at home, was removed from captaincy in favour of Shubman, who has started his reign as Test captain with promise. Despite a dominant, record-shattering 10-match win streak at the 2023 WC and an unbeaten run in the T20 WC and CT 2025 after the Ahmedabad heartbreak, the team management decided to go with fresh blood as a captain.
Speaking on JioHotstar's show 'Cricket Live', Harbhajan congratulated Gill for being given the role and his promising start as Test captain, which includes a well-fought series draw against England away from home and a fine start at home with a massive win over the West Indies in the first of two Test matches today at Ahmedabad.
"Congratulations to Shubman Gill. Obviously, he has been leading the team well in Test cricket, and now he's been given another responsibility: to lead the ODI side as well. Of course, Rohit has been replaced as captain by Shubman, and Rohit is someone who holds a very good record in white-ball cricket. To be honest, it's a bit of a shock for me to see Rohit not being the captain. If you're selecting Rohit Sharma, select him as captain, because he just recently won you the ICC Champions Trophy. Rohit has been one of the pillars of Indian cricket when it comes to white-ball formats," said Harbhajan.
Rohit ends his captaincy tenure with 42 wins in 56 ODIs, just 12 losses and a win percentage of 76 per cent. Combining this with the Champions Trophy title win and a runners-up finish during a largely dominant World Cup 2023 makes him one of India's strongest ODI leaders. More than win-loss records, his fearless approach at the top, along with Shubman Gill during the powerplay, made him a special leader for Team India. With his attacking approach right from ball one, he changed the brand of cricket played by the Men in Blue, which earlier was a little conservative and focused on sticking around, preserving wickets and scoring really big once set.
"I think he should have been given at least this tour. If the selectors are thinking about the 2027 ODI World Cup, it's still far away. Shubman has a lot of time to grow into the role of ODI captain. I'm happy for Shubman; he's got this opportunity, but it could have been delayed a little. He could have waited six to eight months or even a year before taking over. I am happy for Shubman, but at the same time, I am a bit disappointed for Rohit Sharma not being the captain," he added.
The former Indian spin great backed Rohit to bat with the same fearlessness and consistency which earned his team a WC runners-up spot and two successive white-ball titles, saying there will be no change in approach of Rohit. Harbhajan also said that he, along with another senior star, Virat Kohli, will continue to drive Indian cricket.
"If you look at Rohit's ODI record, he is averaging almost close to 50. That shows how consistent he has been and what he brings to the table as an opener. There is no doubt about his performances and his approach when it comes to playing for India. He's been a phenomenal player, and that will not change. He will continue to bat the way he always has and continue to be a leader in the team, irrespective of whether he is captain or not," he said.
"He will keep advising Shubman or anyone else whenever needed. As a batter, Rohit won't change his approach. He will remain as fearless as ever, and so will Virat Kohli. These two top players will continue to drive Indian cricket forward, and we're all looking forward to seeing them win matches for Team India," he added.
Harbhajan was elated for Shreyas's promotion to vice-captaincy, calling him someone "who hardly gets the credit he deserves" and an "impact player who makes things easy for the dressing room".
"I am very happy for Shreyas Iyer. He is one of those guys who hardly gets the credit he deserves. We talk about that World Cup in India; he scored back-to-back centuries, and with what pace! He's an impact player; when he gets going, he makes things easy for the dressing room and the other batters. I am very happy that he's back in the scheme of things, not just as a player but with a bigger responsibility as vice-captain. I am looking forward to seeing him back and to see what he brings to the table in terms of ideas and how he and Shubman Gill take this team forward," he said.
Shreyas' elevation comes after a wonderful couple of years as a captain, including winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last year, winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with Mumbai last year as a captain and leading Punjab Kings (PBKS) to their first IPL finals in 10 years with an aggressive, positive brand of cricket championed by him and head coach, the Aussie batting legend Ricky Ponting.
Iyer has been one of India's most reliable batters, with 2,845 runs in 70 matches and 65 innings at an average of 48.22, with five centuries and 22 fifties. With 243 runs and two fifties in five matches at an average of 48.60, he finished as India's top run-getter and overall second in CT 2025.
The three-match ODI series will start from October 19 onwards, followed by a five-match T20I series starting from October 29.
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), and 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, and Washington Sundar. (ANI)