The decision to remove Rohit Sharma from ODI captaincy after winning the Champions Trophy 2025 title was beyond everyone’s understanding. There were reports that the team management is not looking at Rohit Sharma’s future till the World Cup 2027, due to which they were eyeing to groom a young captain. In such a situation, when the Australia tour was announced last year, Rohit Sharma was in the team, but the responsibility of captaincy was handed over to Shubman Gill. Now former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwari has accused Gautam Gambhir that he had placed the gun on the shoulder of chief selector Ajit Agarkar to remove Rohit Sharma from ODI captaincy.
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Tiwari believes that although Agarkar is a strong character and takes his own decisions, he could not have taken this decision alone and Gambhir’s opinion must have played a role in removing Rohit from the captaincy. Manoj Tiwari told Sports Today, “I don’t know what is the main reason for this. But knowing Ajit Agarkar, he is a personality. He is a person who takes decisions. He will not back down in taking such steps. But has anyone given him a gun on his shoulder? We have to see that a lot of things happen behind the scenes, and the chief selector may have had an input in this. You cannot take the decision alone. He did not understand the logic behind removing Rohit from the post of ODI captain. It is not wise to question leadership skills. It was decided to make Gill the captain, but it could have been done in a better way, perhaps Rohit could have been asked to remain the captain till the New Zealand ODI. Tiwari further said, “Look, in my opinion there has been too much inconsistency in choosing the playing XI. If I am honest, I have lost interest in watching ODI matches. What happened recently, when the captain who won the T20 World Cup and the captain who won the Champions Trophy was removed from the captaincy, and the responsibility. It was given to a new boy, which I don’t think was necessary. I felt it was an insult to the cricketer who has given so much to the world. Since that day, a lot of controversies are happening, and I think this is happening because there is no clarity.”
