This India star set to be in the race for the next white-ball skipper with BCCI looking at leadership plans post Rohit.
This India star to Succeed Rohit Sharma As ODI Captain? Report Makes Big ‘Officially In Race’ Claim.
With a valiant season for the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Shreyas Iyer, one of the most reliable batters in the white-ball spectrum, has greatly enhanced his reputation. Iyer had to demonstrate his leadership abilities once more despite winning the IPL title with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) the previous season. Many viewed Iyer as a “remote-controlled” captain, with many arguing that Gautam Gambhir was the one making the real decisions for the team. Iyer has reportedly formally entered the race to become India’s next white-ball captain, though.
The Indian team’s captaincy is still a contentious issue. Team India has three distinct leaders for the three formats: Suryakumar Yadav for T20Is, Rohit Sharma for ODIs, and Shubman Gill for Tests. The system’s short-term viability is well recognised, nevertheless. In the upcoming years, India is likely to have one red-ball captain and one white-ball captain.
However, Suryakumar Yadav’s hopes of captaining the 50-over team have been severely harmed by his inability to secure a position in India’s ODI squad. According to an Indian Express article, Iyer is formally in the running to be India’s next white-ball skipper after enhancing his reputation with a display of outstanding leadership and strategic abilities this season in the IPL.
“Right now he just plays ODIs but after this IPL we can’t keep him out of T20 internationals and even Tests. Plus he also has now officially joined the white-ball captaincy race,” the report quoted an official, also a key decision-maker, as saying.
Although Rohit, India’s current ODI captain, has not yet announced his retirement, it is difficult to forecast when he would also leave the 50-over format given the manner in which his departures from T20Is and Test matches have transpired.