Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has voiced his disappointment over the Board of Management for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) choice to take away Rohit Sharma because the ODI captain forward of the upcoming Australia tour. The selectors introduced on Saturday, October 4, that Shubman Gill would lead the staff within the 50-over format, changing Rohit, who guided India to a Champions Trophy triumph earlier this 12 months.
Harbhajan Singh shocked by choice to sideline Rohit Sharma as skipper
Talking on Star Sports activities, Harbhajan admitted that whereas Gill’s promotion presents a recent problem for the teenager, he was shocked to see Rohit named within the squad solely as a participant and never as captain.
Rohit’s removing marks the top of almost a four-year tenure as India’s full-time ODI captain. He had already stepped down from T20Is in 2024 and Checks in 2025, and this newest change indicators a big transition section in Indian cricket management.
“Gill has been given one other accountability to steer the staff in ODIs as effectively. After all, it’s going to be a brand new problem for him. He hasn’t performed that earlier than. Rohit clearly has been changed as a captain by Shubman, and Rohit is somebody who holds an excellent file in white-ball cricket. To be sincere, it’s a little bit surprising for me to see Rohit not being captain however nonetheless chosen as a participant,” Harbhajan mentioned.
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‘Rohit ought to have been given at the very least this tour’- Harbhajan on Rohit
Harbhajan, who shared the dressing room with Rohit throughout his taking part in days, felt the senior opener deserved the prospect to steer the staff for at the very least the Australia tour given his current success as captain. Rohit’s management has been broadly credited for India’s consistency in limited-overs cricket. Underneath his captaincy, India gained a number of bilateral collection and ended an extended ICC trophy drought with the T20 World Cup 2024 win and Champions Trophy victory earlier in 2025.
“I believed if in any respect he was going to Australia, he would have been captain once more. He simply gained the Champions Trophy and different tournaments as effectively, so I believe he’s been one of many pillars of Indian cricket in white-ball codecs. He ought to have been given at the very least this tour,” the veteran off-spinner added.
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