Rohit Sharma confirmed as captain for IND vs ENG ODIs & ICC Champions Trophy amid poor form: Reports

Across formats, Rohit Sharma averaged just 31.18 in 40 innings in 2024. In comparison, he averaged 48 the year before.

Not exactly a shock that Rohit Sharma will be announced as the India cricket team captain for the upcoming India vs. England ODI series and ICC Champions Trophy. However, given his poor form over the last six months, many feared that it could be the end of the leadership role for the opener.

Rohit Sharma to continue as India’s ODI captain

Coming from two back-to-back Test series defeats as the Indian captain, some reports suggested that Rohit Sharma will be removed as the ODI captain and Hardik Pandya could replace him. According to News18, that’s not happening. The 37-year-old who took Team India to the final of the last ODI tournament they played (World Cup 2023) will continue as the captain at least until the ICC Champions Trophy.

Of course, the worry over the removal of Rohit Sharma wasn’t just because he lost against New Zealand at home and Australia away. His bat has been silent as well. But his struggles were in Test cricket. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) isn’t mixing formats, and therefore he won’t be penalised for his Test results in ODIs.

When will BCCI announce the squad for India vs England ODIs & ICC Champions Trophy?

Why this news is important is because the BCCI will name their squad for the ICC Champions Trophy by January 12. InsideSport has learned from the ICC that the coming Sunday will be the deadline for initial squad submission for the 8-team tournament. Therefore, the BCCI will convene soon.

InsideSport can also confirm that the squads for the India vs. England ODI series and the ICC Champions Trophy will be announced together. So, there is no doubt Rohit Sharma will captain Team India in both.

India’s predicted squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah* , Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami*

Traveling reserves: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh

* = depending on fitness