Indian ODI captain Shubman Gill has firmly dismissed reports of any tension with his predecessor Rohit Sharma ahead of India’s series opener against Australia on Sunday, October 19, at Optus Stadium, Perth. Gill, who had earlier taken over as India’s Test captain following Rohit’s retirement before the England tour, emphasized that the rumors circulating in the media are unfounded.
The decision to hand over the ODI captaincy to Gill drew mixed reactions from fans and experts. While many viewed it as a long-term strategy for Indian cricket, others questioned the move, noting Rohit’s successful leadership record, including back-to-back ICC titles. Despite the debate, Gill clarified that his professional relationship with Rohit remains strong.
Strong Bond with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
“The narrative outside is different, but there is nothing different in our relationship now. We are just like how we used to be before; everything is the same. He is very helpful. If there is any observation he makes after his years of experience, he tells me, and if there is anything I want to ask him, I go and ask his opinion,” Shubman said in the pre-match press conference with Star Sports.
Shubman Gill also highlighted his camaraderie with Virat Kohli, stating:
“𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒔, 𝑰 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.”
Excelling Under Pressure as Captain
Since assuming leadership across formats, Gill has added a new dimension to his batting and led by example. He has consistently scored runs for the Gujarat Titans (GT) over recent seasons and was the leading run-scorer in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Additionally, he notched a century in the second Test against the West Indies.
Gill reflected on his approach to captaincy and batting:
“𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔. 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒕, 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒚. 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔.”
With the Australia ODI series set to begin, Shubman’s focus remains on leading India while maintaining strong support from experienced teammates like Rohit and Virat.
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