India’s Star batter Rohit Sharma was visibly delighted when ICC chairman and former BCCI secretary Jay Shah referred to him as India’s captain during a public gathering. The video clip, showing Rohit smiling broadly alongside his wife Ritika Sajdeh, has quickly spread across social media platforms. Rohit had earlier been replaced by Shubman Gill as India’s ODI captain ahead of the tour of Australia in October 2025, making Shah’s gesture all the more special for fans and the former skipper alike.
India’s ICC triumphs under Rohit’s leadership
Despite stepping away from the captaincy, Rohit’s tenure as leader remains one of the most successful phases in Indian cricket. Under his guidance, India lifted the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024 and followed it up with the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025, securing back-to-back global titles.
Rohit steps away from T20Is and Tests
Rohit has already announced his retirement from T20 Internationals and Test cricket. Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill have since taken over the captaincy duties in those formats, respectively. With the ODI World Cup scheduled for 2027 and Rohit now 38, the selection committee also decided to hand over the 50-over captaincy to Gill, giving him sufficient time to grow into the role.
Jay Shah’s tribute to Rohit Sharma
Even though Rohit is no longer India’s active captain, Jay Shah chose to address him as such, underlining his contribution to Indian cricket. Speaking at the United in Triumph event, Shah said, “Our captain is sitting here. I will call him captain only, as he has led the team to two ICC trophies. During the 2023 World Cup, after winning ten successive matches, we could only win hearts but could not lift the trophy.”
He added, “In February 2024, I had said in Rajkot that in the next World Cup, we will win both hearts and the cup.”
Jay Shah : “our captain Rohit Sharma is sitting here. I am still calling you captain because under you, we won two ICC trophies”.
Jay Shah is grateful to Rohit Sharma for ending the drought of ICC trophies for India pic.twitter.com/7xjVZdjkwQ
— Kusha Sharma (@Kushacritic) January 8, 2026
Rohit had succeeded Virat Kohli as India’s ODI captain in December 2021 and went on to lead the team in 56 matches.
Rohit Sharma’s next assignment
Rohit Sharma is set to return to competitive action in the upcoming three-match ODI series, which begins on January 11, as he continues to play a key role in India’s plans moving forward.
India’s ODI SQUAD
Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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