Shubman Gill has reportedly been finalized as India’s captain for the ODI World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2027. This development comes after rumors had surfaced for the past few days that his days as Indian captain were numbered.
Shubman Gill was named India’s full-time ODI captain in October 2025, almost five months after being named the country’s full-time Test captain. He also led India in T20Is on an interim basis in 2024, and has also been the captain of Gujarat Titans since that year.
Earlier reports had indicated that Shubman Gill could be removed as ODI captain
Earlier this month, some reports had indicated that the BCCI was looking at a complete overhaul of the captaincy system of the Indian team. Especially, the T20I team.
Even though Gill is not the first choice player for India in T20Is, the decisions there obviously had an impact on his ODI captaincy as well. Initial reports suggested that BCCI wanted to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain due to his poor form with the bat.
Some names were proposed, but the name that stuck as his replacement was that of Shreyas Iyer. Like Gill, Iyer is also not the first choice player in T20Is.
It seems that the radical change in the ODI team has been due to the BCCI’s approach over the years. BCCI has always insisted on having the same captain for the Indian team in both ODI and T20. Along with the news of Shreyas Iyer becoming the T20 captain, reports also say that he will become the ODI captain as well.
While Gill is the captain, Iyer is also the first-choice player in ODIs and is officially Shubman Gill’s vice-captain in this format.
“Shubman Gill is ready for 2027 ODI World Cup” – Journalist Rohit Juglan
Journalist Rohit Juglan addressed the reports on his YouTube channel and clarified that Gill’s captaincy is going nowhere.
“There is this talk going on about Gill’s ODI captaincy. What happened to it? Who is coming to snatch it from him? You tell me, ‘This is the reason why Gill will no longer be the captain.’ [Indian] Squad for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Shubman Gill will be yours [Indian] Captain in ODI. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
Also read: “Congratulations to both our bowlers.”: Shubman Gill happy with Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj after win over SRH
Shubman Gill as captain in ODI and IPL 2026
Gill had a difficult start to ODI cricket as captain of India. Their first series was in Australia in October 2025 and India lost 2–1.
He was injured for the home ODI series against South Africa in November, but returned as ODI captain against New Zealand in January 2026. India lost that series also by the same margin of 2–1.
In IPL 2026, his leadership – among other things – has taken Gujarat Titans to the top of the points table. GT is currently on a five-match winning streak and is in top position to make the playoffs.
