The Indian cricket team has undergone a lot of changes since the Men in Blue's triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Hours after the win in Barbados, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from the T20 format, while Rahul Dravid had earlier announced that the tournament would be his final assignment as head coach of the Indian team.
In the next few months, Gautam Gambhir took the role of the head coach and Suryakumar Yadav was appointed as the captain of the T20I side.
Gambhir introduced a host of young players into the T20 squad as players like Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Harshit Rana broke into the Indian team after starring for their respective franchises in the Indian Premier League.
Add The Sporting News as a preferred news source
The Test and the ODI setup, on the other hand, saw the presence of the old guards, with the Test playing three back-to-back series against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home and Australia away.
While India did beat Bangladesh comfortably, they first faltered against New Zealand and lost their first home series 3-0 in over a decade.
There were no real improvements following the humiliating loss on home soil, as the team once again faltered in Australia and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years.
The Australia tour saw the departure of R Ashwin from international cricket, as the legendary spinner called it a day in the middle of the tour. The series loss also raised questions about Sharma and Kohli's future in the red-ball format, while Gambhir's coaching also came under the scanner.
There was finally some positive news for Indian cricket in February-March this year, as the ODI side lifted the Champions Trophy after 12 years, beating New Zealand in the final.
READ: Is Gill being overburdened with responsibilities?
Amid concern over Sharma and Kohli's form in Test cricket and their future in the longest format, the duo dropped the bomb in a span of a few days in May as they announced their retirement from Test cricket.
With Sharma gone, Shubman Gill was appointed as the captain of the Test team and he came out with flying colours in his first assignment as India held England to a 2-2 draw in the away Test series in the summer.
The success in England was followed by the triumph in the Asia Cup, as Gill returned to the T20 setup and was appointed as the vice-captain of the side. This was a clear indication that the team management is considering Gill as the long-term all-format captain of India and it was a matter of time before Sharma would be removed as the ODI captain.
MORE: How Rohit is preparing for the IND vs AUS ODI series - Report
It was proven true last Saturday, when BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the ODI squad for the upcoming Australia series and Gill was indeed named the captain of the side, replacing Rohit Sharma.
Now, some reports are surfacing that the removal from captaincy could be the beginning of the end for Sharma as well as Kohli, as the senior stars could be fazed out before the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Manoj Tiwary blames Gautam Gambhir for retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli & R Ashwin
In an interview with InsideSport, former India and Bengal batter Manoj Tiwary claimed that Gambhir was the reason behind the ouster of the senior figures from the dressing room, although he did not directly name the India head coach.
Tiwary said: "There are some individuals who just want to avoid the opinions when the team meetings happen. If the senior players are there like Ashwin, Rohit or Virat, these guys have played so much cricket, much more established than the head coach, these guys will raise questions if they don't agree to a point. So make sure these guys are not there."
He added, "Since the time he (Gautam Gambhir) has come in, Ashwin has taken retirement. Rohit and Virat (retirements) and a lot of other things that have happened. Players have come out of the initial squad and make it into the playing eleven and we have seen, he has not been consistent."
RELATED LINKS:
- Who will win the Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 odds, winners list, favourites to win, schedule and results
- ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025: Schedule, fixtures, match times, latest results and points table
- Women's World Cup 2025 semi-final qualification scenarios: Rules, chances and points required for progressing from group stage
- How to bet online on cricket in India and the most trusted site
- All the latest cricket news
- All betting tips and predictions