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Ajit Agarkar has suggested that the Indian dressing room’s feedback has shaped his decision to make Shubman Gill India’s ODI vice-captain.
Shubman Gill.
India men’s chief of selectors Ajit Agarkar said on Saturday (January 18) that dressing room feedback and ‘leadership qualities’ have allowed Shubman Gill to rise over competition and remain the ODI vice-captain. Gill had earlier taken the role in India’s only three ODIs of 2023, away against Sri Lanka.
Agarkar’s comments came in a press conference to announce India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad, where Gill was confirmed as Rohit Sharma’s deputy. He got the job despite once T20 captain Hardik Pandya and Test vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah (though his availability is subject to fitness) being in the team.
“Shubman was vice-captain in Sri Lanka anyway, I wouldn’t read too much into it. A lot of the feedback comes from the dressing room. You also want to keep your options open. One of the challenges is that not many are leading their state teams nowadays… but you are always on the lookout for anyone who has got some leadership qualities.”
Though Agarkar advised against reading ‘too much’ into this decision, it’s an important one for India’s future. Rohit is 37 and is unlikely to play a lot of ODIs beyond the Champions Trophy. He has already been fighting for his spot in the Test setup.
India might need a new ODI captain in 2026 and for now, it looks like Gill is leading the race in front of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Pandya.
For Bumrah, who’s as important in ODIs as in Tests, his extreme workload of being an all-format superstar might cut his points for the job, at least in the short-term. Pandya has been beaten to T20I captaincy by Suryakumar Yadav and looks out of the leadership group for the foreseeable future.
Moreover, despite his recent lull in Test form, Gill has worked hard to become a sure-shot starter in the ODI squad, which is key for a position like this. He had a wonderful 2023, scoring 1584 runs at an average of 63.36 and a strike rate of 105.46, laced with five centuries and nine fifties.
India’s three ODIs against England — the last rubber before the Champions Trophy — will begin on February 6. The multi-nation tournament will follow in February, starting against Bangladesh on the 20th.
