Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden admitted he was taken aback by Rohit Sharma’s removal as India’s ODI captain, especially after the batter led the team to victory in the Champions Trophy 2025. The BCCI’s announcement of India’s squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia, starting Sunday, October 19, revealed that Shubman Gill would take over the 50-over captaincy.
Hayden Understands Shubman Gill’s Grooming
While Hayden expressed surprise at the decision, he acknowledged that the Indian team management is focusing on grooming Shubman Gill as a long-term leader for the Men in Blue. Gill, who already serves as India’s Test captain and Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy in T20Is, is being prepared for major tournaments, including the 2027 World Cup.
“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚, 𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅. 𝑰𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓,” 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚.
Hayden also emphasized the importance of having Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the squad, highlighting their mentorship role for younger players.
“𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆, 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒈𝒐𝒖𝒕. 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
AB de Villiers on Rohit and Kohli’s Return
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers shared his excitement at seeing Rohit and Kohli back in competitive cricket, wishing the duo a strong finish to their illustrious careers.
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 — 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 2027 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕. 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑫𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔.
With Rohit Sharma stepping down from captaincy but continuing as a senior player, and Shubman Gill taking over the leadership reins, India looks to strike a balance between experience and youth ahead of crucial international assignments. The series against Australia will provide a platform for the new leadership while still benefiting from the presence of the veterans in the dressing room.
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