End of an Era? RO-KO Future in Doubt After Shubman Gill Named ODI Captain!
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India names squads for Australia tour; Gill leads ODI side. Rohit-Virat (RO-KO) era fading? All eyes on their future.
Today, the Indian cricket team has been announced for the upcoming One-Day and T20 series against Australia. Ending much speculation, Shubman Gill has been named as the captain of the ODI team, replacing Rohit Sharma. However, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have retained their places in the ODI squad.
Due to injury concerns, Hardik Pandya has not been included in either the ODI or T20 squads. Interestingly, the T20 squad selected is almost identical to the one chosen for the Asia Cup, with only one change: Nitish Kumar Reddy has replaced Hardik Pandya. SKY will lead the T20 team.
From this ODI team announcement, it appears that BCCI is planning to move forward with Shubman Gill at the helm and gradually transition leadership from the senior players. With the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind, Gill is being given time and responsibility to grow with the team. This raises a big question, is the Rohit-Virat (RO-KO) duo nearing its end after the Australia series? Will they play in the 2027 World Cup?
According to renowned cricket journalist Vikrant Gupta, when asked about Rohit and Virat’s future, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar said:
“Both Virat and Rohit are non-committal about the World Cup (2027).”
Fans Reactions on Social Media:
This has cast a shadow of sadness among fans of both players. Many have expressed disappointment and sorrow on different social media platforms. Some fans are blaming BCCI, others are criticizing Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir. On the other hand, some believe this decision has been taken with the future in mind and support giving captaincy to Shubman Gill, calling it the right decision.
Some fans and cricket lovers have even expressed that Shreyas Iyer would have been a better choice for captain.
The unclear point now is:
What are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s personal plans? Will they announce their retirement after the Australia series? Or will they continue until the 2027 World Cup? That remains the biggest question.
Our Perspective:
If both Rohit and Virat wish to play in the 2027 World Cup, a very difficult road lies ahead. That means they will have to perform consistently in almost every match and silence critics with their on-field performance. Even an average performance could lead to them being dropped from the squad, given the current situation.
India’s Squad for the Australia Tour (ODI & T20):
ODI Squad:
Shubman Gill (Captain)
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain)
Axar Patel
KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper)
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Washington Sundar
Kuldeep Yadav
Harshit Rana
Mohammed Siraj
Arshdeep Singh
Prasidh Krishna
Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper)
Yashasvi Jaiswal
T20I Squad:
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain)
Abhishek Sharma
Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain)
Tilak Varma
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Shivam Dube
Axar Patel
Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper)
Varun Chakaravarthy
Jasprit Bumrah
Arshdeep Singh
Kuldeep Yadav
Harshit Rana
Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper)
Rinku Singh
Washington Sundar
Tour Schedule:
BCCI has also released the schedule for the upcoming tour of Australia. The first ODI will be played on October 19, and the series will conclude with the final T20 match on November 8.
ODI Schedule of Australia tour :-
1st match - Date:- 19.10.25, Place :- Perth
2nd match :- Date :- 23.10.25, Place :- Adelaide
3rd match :- Date :- 25.10.25, Place :- Sydney
T20 Schedule:-
1st match - Date :- 29.10.25, Place - Canberra
2nd match- Date :- 31.10.25, Place- Melbourne
3rd match - Date :- 02.11.25, Place - Hobart
4th match - Date :- 06.11.25, Place- Gold Coast
5th match - Date :- 08.11.25, Place - Brisbane
Thank You.
