In India, every cricketing captaincy comes with conspiracy theories. Because of how many parties are in play for the functioning of a team, and how few of them speak out in detail to the public, facts are often unclear, which causes speculation among fans. It happened when MS Dhoni, Mithali Raj, and Virat Kohli either quit or were removed from the job, and the same is continuing for Rohit Sharma.
Rohit was replaced by Shubman Gill as the ODI captain for the upcoming tour of Australia, leaving the Mumbaikar with the solitary role of a specialist 50-over batter in Indian cricket. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar spoke to the media and said the reason for the change was avoiding a clash between the team’s pillars if different captains are kept for the three
formats; plus, he also mentioned the need to give Gill time for the 2027 World Cup.
However, a report has now claimed that head coach Gautam Gambhir was also involved in the call. It said that Gambhir wanted to take firmer control of the team to keep it aligned, and it meant keeping Rohit’s ‘stature’ and well-set philosophies as an established leader out of the way.
“A player of Rohit’s stature in a leadership role would have meant he would get to drive his philosophy in the dressing room. But with him playing only in ODIs, a format which is played the least, it could have disturbed the team culture,” the Times of India quoted a BCCI source as saying. “Gambhir had taken a back seat in Tests and ODIs in the first six months of his assignment, but the debacles against New Zealand and Australia prompted him to take charge more firmly,” the source added.
Gill will now have just under two years to prepare a team for the World Cup in Southern Africa. The first thing he and Gambhir would need is clarity on whether Rohit and Kohli will go that far with their careers because Agarkar didn’t provide any certainty on that either, saying the batters themselves are ‘non-commital’.
