‘Rohit Sharma will be 41 during 2027 World Cup’: Former cricketer justifies India’s captaincy change in ODIs | Cricket News
Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has endorsed BCCI‘s decision to name Shubman Gill as ODI captain for India’s upcoming Australia tour. The decision comes as current captain Rohit Sharma, at 36 years old, would be 41 by the 2027 World Cup.The BCCI revealed the ODI and T20I teams for the Australian series starting October 19. The series includes three ODIs and five T20Is.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to return to cricket following their last appearance in the Champions Trophy 2025 final. Shubman Gill will lead the ODI team with Shreyas Iyer serving as vice-captain, while Rohit will not captain the side.“He’s gonna be, in all honesty, 41 when that World Cup comes around. Right? So, you gotta keep that in consideration as well. And for all intents and purposes, I think it’s done with taking the decision when the stakes are low rather than when the stakes are high, you don’t want another situation like what happened in Australia,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar personally informed Rohit about the management’s decision to transition the captaincy. The change was implemented two years before the 2027 World Cup to allow Gill time to adapt to his new role.Gill, now appointed as ODI captain, focuses on the World Cup. India are scheduled to play approximately 20 ODIs before the tournament in South Africa, where Gill aims to secure the trophy.Uthappa expressed confidence in Rohit’s abilities and hopes for his continued fitness to avoid uncomfortable situations.“To happen to Rohit Sharma, he’s too good a player for something to happen to him like that again. So, maybe to avoid all those stuffs. Maybe, I don’t know… You don’t want an uncomfortable situation like that, and if he keeps himself fit, then no questions there. You know Rohit and Virat will be a part of that side,” he added.“I don’t see form kind of dipping that sense, but it’s just about reflexes and does that work, and how those things work because right now, they are not playing a lot of cricket as well. The only cricket they’ll find themselves playing is perhaps the IPL and One Day cricket, and perhaps maybe some domestic One Day matches if they do come by.”Rohit’s ODI captaincy record since 2017 includes 56 matches with 42 wins, 12 losses, one no-result, and one tie. His 75 percent win rate ranks him among the world’s top white-ball captains.Under Rohit’s leadership, India claimed the 2018 and 2023 ODI Asia Cup titles, finished runners-up in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup at home, and won the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai.Rohit’s first major achievement as ODI captain came in 2018 with the Asia Cup victory. He contributed 317 runs in five innings, including one century and two fifties, averaging 105.66.His full-time ODI captaincy began in early 2022 after Virat Kohli stepped down. From February 2022, India won 34 out of 46 matches under Rohit, with 10 losses, one no-result, and one tie.During his captaincy period from 2022, Rohit scored 1,963 runs in 45 matches at an average of 47.87 and a strike rate of 116.84. His achievements include three centuries and 15 fifties.
