Harbhajan Singh shocked as Rohit Sharma is not named ODI captain

The squad list for India ahead of their Australia tour was announced recently where it was revealed that Shubman Gill will replace Rohit Sharma as captain in the ODI series with Shreyas Iyer being his deputy.

While the move has been seen in good light by many, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh is actually "shocked" at the decision.

Harbhajan Singh expresses shock as new ODI captain is announced

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar, along with the national selection committee appointed Shubman Gill, already the Test captain, to be at the helm of affairs in the upcoming ODI series in Australia.

The decision was made keeping in mind the 2027 ODI World Cup where Rohit Sharma's participation is not really guaranteed owing to his age.

Harbhajan Singh reacted to this decision saying, "I think, to be honest, it is a little bit shocking news for me to see Rohit not being captain. And once he was selected, I thought, if at all he was going to Australia, he would have been captain again".

Talking about why he thought Rohit Sharma still deserved to retain his captaincy, the former cricketer said, "Rohit just won the Champions Trophy and other tournaments before as well as ODI captain. He has been one of the pillars of Indian cricket when it comes to white ball. I think he should have given at least another chance".

Responding to the 2027 World Cup concerns that the selection committee cited to justify their decision, Harbhajan Singh said that the tournament was still quite further away for Shubman. "Probably, take the team forward after maybe six months or eight months or a year. There’s still a lot of time for that. I’m a bit disappointed for Rohit Sharma not being the captain", he added.

Despite the disappointment, Harbhajan Singh congratulated Shubman Gill for the upcoming chapter and expressed his faith in the young skipper. He said, "Obviously, he has been leading the team well in Test cricket and now, he has been given another responsibility to lead the team in ODIs as well. Of course, it’s going to be a new challenge for him".

Harbhajan Singh also said that despite the change in captaincy, there will be no change in the quality of delivery when it comes to Rohit Sharma. He reiterated that despite new guns, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continue to be the soul of the team.

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