Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is expected to take over the captaincy reigns from Rohit Sharma in One Day Internationals (ODIs) for the forthcoming Champions Trophy 2025 starting on February 19.

The latest reports suggest that the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is constantly searching to replace the 37-year-old captain due to his poor captaincy in tests and lack of form with the bat.

Furthermore, the speculations ignited after Rohit opted himself out of the fifth and last test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), paving the way for Jasprit Bumrah as the stand-in-captain. This posed questions about the Indian skipper’s future in test cricket.

Also, Bumrah’s leadership in the Perth Test and exceptional records as a pacer throughout the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 make him an ideal candidate as India’s next test skipper.

After Rohit announced his retirement from T20 Internationals (T20Is), Hardik who was the team’s vice-captain in T20 World Cup 2024 was viewed as a natural successor and was expected to take over the reins.

However, Gautam Gambhir becoming Team India’s head coach witnessed Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) being appointed the new T20I captain rather than preferring Hardik due to fitness issues. As a result, Shubman Gill was promoted as the team’s vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is rather than Rishabh Pant.

Should Hardik Pandya be India’s Captain Rather than Rohit Sharma for Champions Trophy 2025?

Hardik Pandya has a good captaincy record in T20Is having won 10 out of 16 matches and his success rate as Gujarat Titans skipper in IPL 2022 and 2023 makes him the prime choice to take over the 50-over captaincy from Rohit Sharma.

At the same time, his chances of getting injured in the middle of the tournament recalling the ODI World Cup 2023 would leave BCCI unprepared to find an alternate plan.

Hardik replacing Rohit as Team India’s captain could pose further threats in Champions Trophy 2025, which could create a similar issue ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.

Replacing the T20 World Cup 2024 winning captain with the Mumbai Indians skipper doesn’t seem to be a promising option. This is because the five-time champions under Hardik’s captaincy failed to qualify for playoffs after concluding at the bottom position in the IPL 2024 points table.

Should SKY Become India’s Next ODI Captain Ahead of CT 25?

In comparison to the batting performance in T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav is yet to strengthen his spot in the ODI squad and there are fewer chances for him to become the captain in 50-overs cricket. Also, in 37 ODI matches, the 360-degree batter scored just 773 runs.

In contrast to Team India’s performance in ODIs and Tests in the second half of 2024, the T20I squad has been dominant against its opponents under SKY’s captaincy by winning 9 out of 10 matches.

Here is the list of Suryakumar’s captaincy records in different formats and tournaments:

Shubman Gill’s Chances to Become India’s Next ODI Captain

Although India won the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe with a 4-1 margin under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, he needs additional time to mature his batting skills in ODIs before taking the leadership role.

Is Rishabh Pant the strongest contender to replace Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI Captain?

Despite Rishabh Pant having led Delhi Capitals (DC) in the previous few seasons and the Indian cricket team in the 5-match T20I series against South Africa in June 2022, he needs to refine his batting skills and captaincy in the 50-over format.  Possibly, he would be given less preference as Rohit’s successor to take over the ODI captaincy.

Final Opinion:

It is understood that Hardik would become the next ODI captain only if Rohit Sharma decides to retire ahead of the ninth season of Champions Trophy 2025. As the other contenders such as Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill are under consideration, the 31-year-old pace bowling all-rounder is the front-runner for this role.

However, Rohit made an appearance on Star Sports during the lunch of Day 2 in the fifth test at SCG breaking the silence upon his retirement rumors. The Hitman clarified that he isn’t retiring from test cricket and rather stepped down for the New Year’s test to give a chance to an in-form player due to his poor form with the bat.

Possibly, Rohit Sharma would prefer retiring from all formats on a positive note just like the way he did after winning the T20 World Cup 2024.

Moreover, India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is expected to be announced in the second week of January. Finally, it remains to be seen if BCCI will give Rohit a valuable chance to lead the team to lift another ICC trophy under his captaincy or take a risk by appointing a new captain in the prestigious tournament.