‘Tendulkar’, ‘Dhoni’, ‘Sidhu’ pay tribute to Rohit Sharma’s ODI captaincy – watch video | Cricket News
Shaarang Shringarpure, a well-known mimicry artist, paid tribute to Rohit Sharma‘s ODI captaincy after the Mumbaikar was removed as skipper from the 50-over format. The selectors announced the major leadership change for the Australia limited overs series with Shubman Gill to lead in the 50-over format and Suryakumar Yadav in the T20Is. In the social media video, Shringarpure brilliantly mimicked the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Ravi Shastri and Navjot Singh Sidhu, giving voice to what their reactions might have been on Rohit’s stint as ODI captain.WATCH: Mimicry artist pays tribute to Rohit Sharma’s ODI captaincy
Rohit was removed as captain, with Gill stepping in, with an eye on the 2027 World Cup. The decision was revealed on Saturday, with Rohit keeping his place in the 15-member squad alongside fellow veteran Virat Kohli for the upcoming Australia tour.The 38-year-old’s tenure as ODI captain saw him achieve a remarkable winning percentage of 76, securing victories in 42 out of 56 matches. He joins MS Dhoni as the only Indian captain to lead the team to three ICC white ball finals, winning both the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy.
In further leadership changes, Shreyas Iyer has been appointed vice-captain for the three-match ODI series against Australia, scheduled between October 19 and 25 in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne. The series will be followed by five T20 matches.Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar confirmed discussing the captaincy change with Rohit Sharma but remained non-committal about the future of both Rohit and Kohli regarding the 2027 World Cup.“Yes. I mean that is the format they are playing at the moment and we (have) picked them. As far as the 2027 (ODI) World Cup is concerned, I don’t think we need to talk about it today, obviously with the captaincy change that’s generally the thought,” Agarkar stated.When questioned about Rohit’s reaction to the decision, Agarkar responded: “I mean that is a conversation between me and Rohit or us (selectors) and Rohit. But like I said, of course, it has been communicated to him.”Agarkar emphasised the impracticality of having three different captains for three formats, citing planning challenges.“Firstly, it’s practically impossible to have three different captains for three formats, just in terms of planning,” Agarkar explained.
Poll
Do you agree with the selectors’ decision to replace Rohit Sharma as ODI captain?
The selection committee’s focus is on the 2027 World Cup, with Agarkar discussing the limited opportunities in ODI cricket.“Obviously, at some stage, you have got to start looking at where the next World Cup is, it’s also a format which is played the least now, so you don’t get that many games to actually give the next guy or if there is going to be another guy that much time to prepare himself or plan.”Agarkar addressed the challenges of ODI cricket’s scheduling and preparation time.“We are still two years away, it might look like a long time, but we don’t quite know how many one-day games we might play (and yet) closer to the World Cup we might end up playing a little bit more than what we have. But the last ODI we played was 8th or 9th of March in Champions Trophy and the next one we play is in October 19th, so it is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket at the moment. Of course the focus has been on T20 World Cup, but slowly we will start planning for that World Cup to come, so it gives the next guy enough time to plan with whatever games that we have coming (up).“Regarding the timing of the captaincy change, Agarkar explained the decision’s inevitability.“Even if he had not won the Champions Trophy it would have been a difficult decision because of how good he has been for India. But you have got to sometimes look at what is coming forward, where you stand as a team and eventually look at what is in the best interest of the team,” Agarkar said.“Whether it is now or maybe six months later, those are the calls that I suppose we have put in place to make. Like I said, it is tough with one-day cricket at this point, because if you are going to make that call, you want to try and make it reasonably early and give the other guy enough chance to try and get that confidence of leading (in) another format, so that was the idea.”
