India will tour Australia later this month for a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series, which kicks off October 19, 2025.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be a part of the setup, but there’s one big change, 26-year old Shubman Gill has been appointed as the captain in the 50-over format.
This was announced right as the touring squad was revealed on Saturday, and needless to say, came as quite the surprise taking Rohit’s near-perfect ODI record as captain into account.
Naturally, some have had doubts regarding how things will function moving forward. However, former Australia captain, Aaron Finch thinks that the presence of the two modern-era greats will have a calming effect on Gill on the field.
Finch on the Kohli-Rohit factor in Gill’s captaincy
Speaking in an interview with the International Cricket Council (ICC), Aaron Finch suggested that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s presence on the field would be calming for the new captain, as he will have someone to turn to for advice if needed:
“I think when you look back to that England Test series he (Gill) didn’t have many other options that he could turn to for advice, probably when he was out on the ground, but he did a wonderful job himself“
“But I think just having those guys (Rohit and Kohli) there will be a real calmness for him as well, because it’s the ability to bounce ideas, both on and off the field on how you want the team to function going forward, because they’ve been such a huge part of the team for a long period of time.” he added.
Notably, this isn’t the first time that a former captain has remained in the squad as young blood takes charge. Most recently, it was MS Dhoni, who played for a while under Virat Kohli in white-ball cricket for India, even in the 2019 ICC World Cup.
Hence, there is potential for Rohit Sharma and Kohli to do the same for Gill as they prepare for the next ICC World Cup in 2027.
