Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif slammed the selectors for hurrying Shubman Gill into ODI captaincy instead of sticking with Rohit Sharma, keeping in mind the 2027 World Cup. Kaif said he is gutted to know that the selectors can’t give Rohit the opportunity to captain in the 2027 World Cup despite the opener’s accomplishments as skipper.BCCI’s chief of selectors Ajit Agarkar reasoned the move behind appointing Gill as captain, claiming that they are looking forward to the 2027 World Cup and want to give the 25-year-old time to plan for the mega tournament. Nevertheless, Rohit’s age of 38 could also make it difficult for him to feature in the next 50-overs World Cup.
Speaking in a video uploaded on X, Kaif praised Rohit’s selflessness to step away from T20Is after the World Cup last year to give young players opportunities, stating:
“Rohit Sharma ne Hindustan ko 16 saal diye. Aur hum unko ek saal nahin de paaye, bataur captain. 16 ICC events mein 15 mein jeet hai. 1 match haare, woh 2023 ka WC final tha against Australia. 2025 Champions Trophy ka last match tha Dubai mein. Player of the match they Rohit Sharma. 2024 World Cup mein jeeti thi bharat. Wahan unke naam Trophy thi. Badappan dikhaaya retirement lekar, ki chalo 2024 ka World Cup hum jeet gaye, naye player ko aane do. Hindustan mein jab tak aaapka gaur chal raha hai khichte raho, par Rohit Sharma ne asia kaam nahin kiya.” Rohit Sharma gave 16 years to Indian cricket but we couldn’t give him one year. Out of 16 ICC event matches, he won 15. The one match lost was the 2023 World Cup final. The final of 2025 Champions Trophy was in Dubai. Rohit Sharma was the Player of the Match. India had won the 2024 T20 World Cup too. Rohit Sharma humbly retired, he could’ve continued. He continued:
“Player banaye, players ko sikhaaya, par unko humne ek saal, 2027 ka jo World Cup hai, unko kaptaani nahin di gayi, hata diye gaye. Jis kaptaan ne hume 8 maheene mein 2 trophy di hai, unka naam nahin hai, Shubman Gill takeover karenge. Shubman Gill yuva hai, naye hain acche kaptaan ban sakte hain. Par har cheez mein chappar phaad ke dene ki kya avashyakta hai?”
(He made players, nurtured them but we couldn’t give him captaincy for 2027 World Cup. The captain, who propelled India to 2 ICC trophies in eight months. Shubman Gill will take over. Gill is young and can become a good captain but what is the need to hurry so much?)
