“The next ODI captain has been decided” - Aakash Chopra reveals India’s next ODI captain after Rohit Sharma

With Shubman Gill becoming the vice-captain of the Indian T20I team for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2025 campaign, there have been multiple reports that he will be elevated as the new limited-overs captain in the near future. 

Speaking on the same lines, the former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has opened up on the new ODI captain, adding that Shubman Gill has already been decided as the new captain without a formal appointment.

“It was said that Shreyas Iyer would become the captain, that he would pip Shubman Gill to the post. In my opinion, the next (ODI) captain has been decided without a formal appointment. It has been decided that it would be Shubman Gill. He is the Test captain. He has been made T20I vice-captain, maybe not out of turn as they had a logic, but Axar Patel hadn’t done anything wrong, and no one felt that the spot would automatically go to him, and you could have argued against it as well. If he has been made the T20I vice-captain, he is already the ODI vice-captain. Shubman Gill is going to be the next captain.” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

There have been multiple reports surrounding the internet that Shreyas Iyer is the frontrunner to lead the Indian ODI team after Rohit Sharma’s retirement. Notably, Iyer led the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise to IPL 2024 title win while he propelled the Punjab Kings franchise to the grand finale in IPL 2025.

“It’s very difficult to say because the job Shreyas has done has been absolutely outstanding. He won KKR the final and took Punjab to the final. I think he could have been the next in line for captaincy, but Shubman Gill’s records are not bad either. He took the Gujarat Titans to the playoffs in his second year and drew the Test series in England. He is also someone who leads by example, leading from the front, and who scores runs. A leader doesn’t ask you to do what he says. A leader says ‘do as I do.’ So you set the example, and Shubman Gill does that job. I am not going to choose one. Shreyas Iyer is a phenomenal skipper, but Shubman Gill is not bad either,” Chopra added.

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