"He has become the second-best captain after MS Dhoni"- Virender Sehwag praises Rohit Sharma after his captaincy stint comes to an end

Rohit Sharma won the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tournaments.

Rohit Sharma’s era as India captain came to an end as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced that Shubman Gill will be India’s new ODI captain from the upcoming tour of Australia. India will tour Australia for three ODI and five T20Is, which will begin on October 19 with the first ODI in Perth.

This decision was taken to give Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir a better plan on the road to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027.

Rohit, a two-time ICC trophy winner and the only skipper to lead India to three ICC white-ball finals aside from MS Dhoni, is still a member of India’s ODI squad, with him and Virat Kohli included in the 15-man squad for the three-match ODI series in Australia.

Rohit Sharma, 38, has led India in ODI cricket since 2021. During his tenure, he captained India in 56 ODIs, securing 42 wins, 12 losses, one tie, and one no result.

“People underestimate him regarding his captaincy”- Virender Sehwag praises Rohit Sharma

The 38-year-old Rohit Sharma, along with Virat Kohli, has already retired from T20Is and tests. This meant that, if he had remained ODI captain, Rohit Sharma would’ve played only a handful of matches ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027. Therefore, making Shubman Gill the new captain was a logical decision.

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag paid great homage to Rohit Sharma and called him the second-best India captain after legendary MS Dhoni. Rohit is only the second Indian captain, after Dhoni, to lead India into the finals of three ICC tournaments, winning two of them.

“People underestimate him regarding his captaincy, but after these two trophies, perhaps he has become the second-best captain after MS Dhoni. He thinks less about himself, thinks about his team, thinks about his teammates, and makes them comfortable. He understands that if a player has insecurity, his performance doesn’t come through, so that’s why he doesn’t give anyone insecurity—he takes everyone in the team along with him,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan commended Rohit’s ability to maintain composure under duress while leading the squad.

“Winning trophies is a kind of drive, and his experience in this matter is quite extensive, so somewhere that drive is visible in him. Whenever playing multi-nation tournaments or franchise cricket tournaments, you can see what needs to be done, how to communicate, and how to prepare—all these things are absolutely reflected in his behavior. And with intensity, that casual approach too, I think, works very well for him,” said Zaheer.

Rohit Sharma had taken over as India captain in ODIs and T20Is in 2021 and as test captain in 2022.

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