Shubman Gill joins legendary list, follows MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli into Indian cricket's elite club

For the first time in nearly a decade, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will take the field for India under a different captain. The last time that happened was back in 2016, when MS Dhoni was still leading the side. Now, it is Shubman Gill ’s turn to take charge, becoming India’s 28th ODI captain and the seventh to lead the country across all formats.

Captains to Lead India in all Formats
2006- Virender Sehwag
2008 -MS Dhoni
2017 - Virat Kohli
2017 - Ajinkya Rahane
2022 - Rohit Sharma
2022 -KL Rahul
2025 - Shubman Gill*


At just 26, Gill stands at the beginning of a fresh chapter in Indian cricket. The torch has been passed, quietly but significantly, from the two most influential batters of the last generation to one of the brightest stars of the next.

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Prasidh Krishna

Australia Squad: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe(w), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Bartlett, Josh Hazlewood, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann

India’s new era begins in Perth on Sunday against Australia. The Optus Stadium is expected to host a near-capacity crowd, and the occasion feels bigger than a regular bilateral series. The focus may still rest on the two stalwarts, but this is undeniably Shubman Gill’s moment — the day he steps from promise into leadership, carrying the hopes of Indian cricket’s next generation.