Rohit Sharma seems to have played his last ODI as the Indian captain. The Hitman failed to lead the nation to an ICC trophy for the third consecutive time. After India’s failure to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and ICC World Test Championship Final 2023, Sharma’s men once again failed to win the ICC World Cup.
The World Cup was perfect for India until the final, where Australia beat them by six wickets. The next World Cup is in 2027, and since Sharma will be 40+ by then, the selectors will likely change the captain soon. Here are three players who can become India’s next ODI captain.
1. Virat Kohli should replace Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli never wanted to leave the ODI captaincy, but BCCI surprisingly sacked him as the captain in 2021/22. Kohli is the fittest player in the team. He knows how to lead from the front. Perhaps, BCCI can request Kohli to lead India in ODIs and groom someone like Shubman Gill or Ishan Kishan to become the next captain in the 50-over format.
2. KL Rahul
KL Rahul has proven himself as a champion player in the ODI format. He even led India to a 2-1 series win against Australia right before the 2023 World Cup. Rahul has enormous captaincy experience under his belt, having led Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants in IPL.
3. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya seems to be the next guy to lead India in white-ball cricket, but the problem with him is that he is an injury-prone player. Even in the 2023 World Cup, he got injured midway, and it cost India big time in the final. Pandya’s fitness will be an area of concern if he is made the full-time ODI captain.
