Post by : Rameen Ariff

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced the Indian cricket squad for the upcoming tour of Australia. Shubman Gill has been named as Team India’s new ODI captain, taking over the leadership from Rohit Sharma. Shreyas Iyer will serve as his vice-captain in the 50-over format.

This series, starting October 19, will see the return of veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to the national side. However, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ODIs, while young talent Yashasvi Jaiswal makes a comeback. For the T20I series, Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed captain, with Gill as vice-captain. Nitish Kumar Reddy also joins the T20I squad, while injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya will miss the series.

The decision to name Gill as ODI captain means Rohit Sharma will no longer hold a leadership role in the format. According to BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, future selections for Rohit and Virat will be based solely on merit, with an eye on the 2027 ODI World Cup.

India’s ODI squad for the Australia series includes Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), KL Rahul (WK), Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Meanwhile, India’s T20I squad retains almost all players from the Asia Cup-winning team, except Hardik Pandya. Other members include Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.

Selectors have emphasized that the choice of Gill as captain aims to ensure stable leadership for the team while maintaining balance across formats. The squad announcement reflects a blend of experienced players and emerging talent, keeping India competitive in both ODIs and T20Is against Australia.

#Sports News