Mohammad Kaif Defends Shubman Gill, Says Replacing Rohit Sharma as Captain Comes With Emotional Burden

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes Shubman Gill is facing a challenging start as India’s new ODI and Test captain after replacing Rohit Sharma. Kaif pointed out that Rohit, who led India to the 2025 Champions Trophy, was removed despite his success and Gill now carries the emotional weight of leading his senior and former captain.

Kaif feels the transition is testing for Gill, both mentally and professionally, as he takes charge of a team featuring experienced players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“It takes time for any new captain, now, for Gill, he has Rohit Sharma, a proven leader, playing under him. Gill also knows that Rohit Sharma has not done anything wrong as a captain. He was removed from captaincy. When Gill goes to sleep in his hotel room, he must be thinking that Rohit bhai has not done anything wrong. He must be feeling the guilt inside, ‘that people are backing me, but think about Rohit bhai, he did so well and won trophies, but even after that, he was removed, and I was named captain’,” said Kaif in a video on his YouTube channel.

Gill Faces Early Test as India Slip in ODI Series

India recently lost a bilateral ODI series under Gill’s captaincy. Kaif then stated that this phase reflects the growing pains of a young leader adapting to expectations at the highest level.

“So, considering everything — fatigue, travel, playing so many matches on the trot, and having the task of captaining Rohit and Kohli, it will take time. This is a transition phase for Gill as ODI captain. Whenever he leads Rohit and Kohli, he will feel nervous. So this is a time where the runs are not coming from the bat, and we lost a bilateral ODI series, I don’t even remember when we lost a bilateral series. So, all of this has happened under his captaincy, and this had to happen,” he added.

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Meanwhile, Shubman Gill’s debut ODI series as captain has been tough, with struggles both as leader and batter. He managed only 10 runs in Perth and nine in Adelaide. He now holds the unwanted record of losing his first ODI, Test, and T20I matches as skipper.