• Source:JND
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Rohit Sharma came up wth his first reaction after being replaced as India's ODI captain by young batter Shubman Gill ahead of the all-important Australia tour, which begins on October 19.

Rohit made his much-awaited return to the ODI team alongside Virat Kohli. India and Australia will face off in a three-match ODI series, and it will be followed by five T20I matches. The BCCI named a 15-member squad for the ODIs led by Gill, whereas Shreyas Iyer was named as the vice-captain. The decision of captaincy change came as a shock for some fans as well as experts, as India won the Champions Trophy title under his leadership back in March 2025.

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However, Rohit expressed his excitement regarding the series and said that he loves playing cricket in Australia because of the love that the people of the country have for the sport.

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"I love playing against Australia, love going there, people in Australia love cricket a lot," Rohit said on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai.

While announcing the squads for the Australia tour, the BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Rohit had been informed about the change in captaincy, but kept it open-ended when asked if both he and Kohli would play the 2027 ODI World Cup.

"Yes. I mean, that is the format they are playing at the moment, and we have picked them. As far as the 2027 (ODI) World Cup is concerned, I don't think we need to talk about it today, obviously, with the captaincy change that's generally the thought," said Agarkar.

Asked how Rohit had taken the decision, the former pacer said: "I mean that is a conversation between me and Rohit or us (selectors) and Rohit. But like I said, of course, it has been communicated to him."

Justifying the decision of Gill's appointment as the new skipper, Agarkar went on to say that with very few ODI matches being played nowadays, it is impossible to look at three different captains as it hampers the general planning of the national team.