Dilip Vengsarkar questions Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’s inclusion in India ODI squad, endorses Shubman Gill as captain

The BCCI has been slammed for removing Rohit Sharma as Team India captain. The responsibility has been given to Shubman Gill, 26. Meanwhile, the selectors have gained rare support from former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar.

Vengsarkar has praised the selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, for appointing Shubman Gill as India’s new ODI captain. According to him, the Test skipper is the best choice to lead across formats.

“Gill is a very good all-format player. Actually, when you pick a captain, you first pick the team and then you pick the best available guy to lead the side. I think Gill is the best person to lead the side in ODIs and Test matches because he is also good in T20s,” Vengsarkar told Mid-Day.

At the same time, Vengsarkar questioned the inclusion of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the 15-member ODI squad for the upcoming Australia tour.

According to the legendary cricketer, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been great players, the selectors must reconsider their selection since they now play only one format.

He feels it’s hard to judge their form and fitness after such a long break from competitive cricket. According to him, assessing their readiness under these conditions is very difficult.

“Rohit and Virat have possibly been picked because of their great records. They have been great players and have done yeoman service to Indian cricket, having won many matches in all formats of the game,” Vengsarkar told the publication.

"It’s very difficult to gauge their form and fitness. But, since they have been picked, the selectors may have checked that, though I don’t know how,” he added.

Shubman Gill will now lead Team India in Test cricket and ODIs. Suryakumar Yadav is the captain of the T20 team. Under his captaincy, Team India won the Asia Cup 2025.

Gill’s appointment as the ODI captain came soon after India’s dominant innings and 140-run win over West Indies in Ahmedabad. His first match as the ODI captain will be against Australia on October 19 in Perth.

India ODI squad

Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.