Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has weighed in on the speculation around India’s next ODI captain and cleared the air on rumours linking Shreyas Iyer to the role. Despite Iyer’s impressive recent performances, he was not included in India’s Asia Cup squad, which sparked chatter about his future in the national setup. Chopra, speaking on his YouTube channel, said the talk of Iyer being the next ODI skipper is nothing more than rumours. He emphasised that the path is already set for Shubman Gill, who has steadily grown into leadership positions across formats. Gill is currently India’s Test captain and the vice-captain of the T20I side for the Asia Cup, besides already holding the ODI vice-captaincy. “The next ODI captain will be Gill. He is already the vice-captain in ODIs and is leading in Tests as well. Without any official announcement, it is clear that the position is his,” Chopra said.
India squad for Asia Cup 2025Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
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He further added that Axar Patel, who previously served as T20 vice-captain, had not lost his place due to poor performances, but Gill’s emergence as a leader means the role naturally shifted, underlining that Gill is now the heir apparent to India’s white-ball captaincy.Chopra’s comments arrive at a crucial moment for Indian cricket, as fans debate the omission of Iyer and the roadmap for India’s leadership after Rohit Sharma in ODI cricket.
