22 Aug 2025 : It is a period of transition for the Indian national cricket team, with a young coach and a team that has seen wholesale changes in the last 12 months as many of its veterans step away and make space for fresh blood. This has been particularly true when it comes to the leadership contingents of the team across the board, with the decisions regarding who the leader of India’s brave new world will be holding a lot of importance for its immediate future; this is not a string of decisions to be taken lightly. If the first half of the year was dedicated to question marks over the Test captaincy for India’s men’s national team, the second half has begun with questions regarding captaincy in ODI cricket. With rumours swirling regarding the oncoming retirement of incumbent ODI captain Rohit Sharma, a fair few names have been thrown around as candidates for limited-overs leadership in recent days.
High amongst those is Shreyas Iyer, whose stock as a captain in white-ball cricket is at an all-time high after reaching two consecutive IPL finals with two different franchises. Iyer’s mixture of experience, leadership, and x-factor has made him a sudden crowd favourite to take over the captaincy mantle from Rohit, as and when Team India reaches that bridge.
Recent reports suggested Iyer will be the frontrunner, but those calls might have been nipped in the bud early. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia denied all claims of discussions to replace Rohit having taken place. In an exclusive comment to Hindustan Times, Saikia stated: “That’s news to me. There have been no such discussions.”
Rohit is certainly in the twilight of his career at age 38, having retired from T20I and Test cricket already. However, ODI cricket remains arguably his strongest format, where he has provided no indication thus far of hanging up his gloves. Nonetheless, tough questions must be asked regarding whether or not Rohit will be in the picture when the 2027 ODI World Cup rolls around, at which point he will have reached his 40th birthday, while someone like Iyer would be at the peak of their strength and with a decade of international experience holding him up to boot.
‘No way’ Shubman Gill shouldn’t be ODI captian’: BCCI official
While Iyer is a fixture in the Indian ODI team after a pair of sensational tournament performances in the World Cup and Champions Trophy, he may still not be the frontrunner for the captaincy position. Shubman Gill remains a premier ODI opening batter for his team, and given his fast-track to leadership positions within the IPL and for the Indian Test team, might have pipped Iyer to being Rohit’s natural successor.
Summary:
The BCCI clarified no discussion occurred regarding Shreyas Iyer for ODI captaincy, confirming Shubman Gill as the leading candidate to replace Rohit Sharma in future.