The story of Shreyas Iyer gets more interesting with every passing day. Iyer, who is not part of India's plans in Tests or T20Is, has suddenly approached as the leader to replace Rohit Sharma as the next ODI captain. The development comes two days after Iyer was not considered for the Men's Asia Cup squad, which resulted in plenty of backlash from fans and experts.
The development was reported by Dainik Jagran, which stated that the middle-order batter is seen as a long-term option to lead India in ODIs, possibly till the 2027 World Cup. Iyer played a massive role in India's previous ODI assignments, which was at the ICC Champions Trophy held earlier this year. He then finished as the team's leading run-scorer by amassing 243 runs from five innings, which featured two half-centuries.
In addition, Iyer has also proved his credentials as a skipper, having already led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title and then Punjab Kings to a runners-up finish in IPL 2025.
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The move even comes as a big surprise as many have expressed that Shubman Gill is projected as India's next captain in all three formats. The mantle has been passed in Tests and on Tuesday he was appointed as the team's vice-captain in T20Is, when the selection committee revealed the squad for Asia Cup 2025.
The change of thought among the BCCI decision makers may have been due to Gill's workload. Gill recently took part in a gruelling five-match Test series against England and will now fly with the team to UAE for the continental showdown. Iyer, on the other hand, last featured for India in the Champions Trophy and played in the IPL, which followed. He has since been away from action.
India's next ODI assignment is against Australia, which is scheduled to start from October 19. Rohit and Virat Kohli, both who have called quits from the Test and T20I formats, are expected to make the much-anticipated return in Indian colours during the series. It is a three-match ODI series, which will be followed by T20Is.
If the report by the Hindi national daily is confirmed then the upcoming series may be Rohit's final in Indian colours.
