“Why are you still keeping Rohit Sharma in the team?” - Ex-selector questions Team India selection committee

Former Team India selector Saba Karim has lashed out at the Indian selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, for sacking Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia Down Under.

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Speaking on the Kadak News Channel, Karim asserted that if selectors decided to sack Rohit as a captain, he shouldn’t have been part of the ODI side, as he isn’t part of Team India’s plans for the ICC ODI World Cup 2027.

“If you haven’t made him the captain, then why are you still keeping him in the team? It clearly shows that you don’t see him as part of the future, that he won’t be there for the 2027 World Cup. In that case, you shouldn’t keep a player in the team whom you don’t see as part of your plans for 2027. Then whether he remains captain or not, or even a player or not, doesn’t really matter. That’s why I said the selectors have acted in great haste with Rohit Sharma, and there was no need for it,” Karim said on Kadak News Channel.

Furthermore, Karim felt that Shubman Gill will be the all-format captain in the near future, having been made the vice-captain of the Indian T20I side before the start of the Asia Cup 2025 campaign. Additionally, he hailed Gill’s captaincy capabilities in the longest format of the game.

“You have elevated him and even made him the vice-captain in T20s. Now that you have made him captain, the thought is that very soon, maybe by the next season, we will see Shubman Gill leading in all three formats. Looking at it this way, their thinking seems correct. They feel that there is no other capable leader, and that’s why they are pushing Shubman at this time. He has also shown good captaincy, performing well in Test cricket. Now we will see how he does in ODIs, but yes, he has the capabilities to become a captain,” he concluded.

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