Rohit Sharma’s international captaincy tenure came to an end on Saturday when the national chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, unveiled Shubman Gill as the new ODI skipper, set to take over in two weeks in Australia when India play their first set of 50-over games since winning the ICC Champions Trophy under Rohit earlier this year.
Since taking over as white-ball captain in 2021, Rohit has built a supreme record in international cricket with his 73.5 win percentage ranking the best among all captains who have led in at least 100 international matches. Having led India to the T20 World Cup title and the Champions Trophy win this year, Rohit was within touching distance of clinching the World Cup title too in 2023. However, it wasn’t the case forever that the Mumbaikar was regarded as an able leader of a side.
‘They said he was moody’
Former India assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, recently revealed how Rohit was dismissed as a ‘mad and moody’ captain in the Mumbai cricketing circles early in his career. Recalling an incident from 13 years ago around the time when he was not a permanent fixture in India’s ODI and Test squads, Nayar explained how Rohit was sacked from the Mumbai Ranji Trophy captaincy after standing in for an injured Agarkar during the season.
“Not many people know this but Rohit was removed from captaincy when he led the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team. We won that year by the way. Ajit Agarkar was the captain. Then he got injured and Rohit came in as stand-in captain for two games. Then they said ‘ye paagal hai’ (he is delusional). That was the notion in Mumbai, that ‘cricketer unbelievable hai, but captain moody hai’,” said Nayar in a recent podcast show with Aashish Kaushik.
“Ironically, I took over from him and he played under me. When Ajit came back, Ajit was captain and I took over one he left. From that Rohit Sharma to now, oh god. I’m amazed by his vision and thought process, not only for the team but also the individuals.
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‘Great decision’
Rohit’s removal from captaincy received mixed reactions from fans and pundits alike, with the 38-year-old now not seen as a certainty as India begin preparations for the next ODI World Cup, slated to be held in Africa in late 2027. Nayar, who hailed Rohit’s astute captaincy nous, said he lauded the decision to appoint Gill provided that everyone was kept in the loop.
“As long as that discussion happened with Rohit, as long as he was on the same page, if he also said, ‘Yes, we have to look forward, we want to give Shubman Gill a chance, and I’ll be there in that dressing room with you to help him through it,’ then I am all for it. I think it’s a great decision because you’ve kept the captain (Rohit) in the loop. You’ve given him that responsibility — ‘help us take this team forward like you did till now.’ I feel he deserves that much,” Nayar said on Star Sports.