With the Indian selectors announcing Shubman Gill as the ODI captain early this month, it means that former captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be playing under Gill’s captaincy for the first time with India facing Australia in the three-match ODI series starting at Perth on Sunday. With both of them having retired from T20I as well Test cricket, there have been talks about both of them retiring from the ODI format too. Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has termed the removal of Rohit Sharma as ODI captain as an ‘interesting’ move and termed Sharma ‘bit vulnerable’ due to his age.
“Rohit being axed as captain was an interesting move from afar. After such a great win in the Champions Trophy, I suppose the selectors are purely looking at the numbers. At 38, with a couple of years to go before the World Cup, he becomes a bit vulnerable purely because of his age,” Hayden told JioHotstar ahead of the three-match ODI series starting in Perth on Sunday.
In recent years, Sharma led India to the T20 World Cup title last year as well this year’s Champions Trophy. The Mumbai Indians batsman amassed 418 runs in this year’s IPL prior to the Australia Tour and will be playing at the international level in the white-ball format since the Champions Trophy for the first time. Hayden sees the BCCI bringing Shubman Gill, who was appointed the Test captain earlier this year, as the ODI captain as a bit of an ‘insurance policy’. “The talent and class (of Rohit) are always on display, and so is that magnificent body of work, not only in terms of his own performances, but also India’s success as a team. Very similar to the Virat and Dhoni eras, lots of success. But I guess it’s a bit of an insurance policy to bring on Shubman Gill, ensure he’s in-charge across all formats, and particularly help him learn leadership while Rohit Sharma is still in the dressing room. It would just be a bonus if Rohit makes it to the next World Cup.” Hayden added.
Both Kohli and Sharma sit in the top ten run-getters list in ODI format in the world with Kohli occupying the third spot with a total of 14,181 runs while Sharma occupies the tenth spot with a tally of 11,118 runs. While Kohli has played in 302 ODIs in his career so far, Sharma has played in 273 ODIs in his career so far. Kohli has an ODI average of 57.88 while Sharma has an ODI average of 48.76. Hayden termed both Kohli and Sharma’s experience as vital along with youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“Between Rohit and Virat, you’re talking about almost 600 international games, an abundance of experience and workload. I really think they’ll have a great opportunity to perform on good tracks at the start of the Australian summer. Everyone is very excited to see them Down Under, and I expect them to be at their very best. Thirteen thousand runs for Virat, Rohit averaging nearly 50 in one-day cricket across 273 matches, it’s an exciting prospect. In my opinion, success in ODI cricket depends on having the right mix of youth and experience, and that’s exactly what Team India have. The youthful energy of someone like Jaiswal, alongside the experience of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is vital. The same goes for bowling; you need that young, athletic energy because 50 overs is a long time in the field. India has a great balance right now, a blend of athleticism, passion, and experience. And I’m sure some of the senior players will already have one eye on the 2027 World Cup,” Hayden said.
