"The next captain has been decided without appointment" - Aakash Chopra on who should be India's next ODI captain

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Shubman Gill has been earmarked as the Men in Blue's next ODI captain. He wondered from where the rumors about Shreyas Iyer pipping him to the post are emanating.

Gill was India's vice-captain when Rohit Sharma led them to the title in the 2025 Champions Trophy, their last ODI tournament. However, certain reports suggested that Shreyas could be handed the ODI reins after Rohit.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the cricketer-turned-commentator was asked about his thoughts on India's next ODI captain.

"Good question, because the rumor markets are hot. It was said that Shreyas Iyer would become the captain, that he would pip Shubman Gill to the post. Sir, from where do you get it? In my opinion, the next captain has been decided without appointment. It has been decided that it would be Shubman Gill," he responded (1:30).

Chopra highlighted that Gill's appointment as India's vice-captain for the 2025 Asia Cup shows that he is being considered a future leader across formats.

"He is the Test captain. He has been made T20I vice-captain, maybe not out of turn as they had a logic, but Axar Patel hadn't done anything wrong, and no one felt that the spot would automatically go to him, and you could have argued against it as well. If he has been made the T20I vice-captain, he is already the ODI vice-captain. So don't ask the question. Shubman Gill is going to be the next captain," he observed.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Shreyas Iyer is a very valuable ODI player. While predicting that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper will also be a part of India's 2026 T20 World Cup squad, he opined that the Mumbaikar won't become the ODI captain.

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"It's very difficult to say" - Aakash Chopra on choosing the better captain between Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill

Shreyas Iyer (left) and Shubman Gill captained their respective franchises to the IPL 2025 playoffs. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra was asked to choose the better captain between Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill.

"It's very difficult to say because the job Shreyas has done has been absolutely outstanding. He won KKR the final and took Punjab to the final. I think he could have been the next in line for captaincy, but Shubman Gill's records are not bad either. He took the Gujarat Titans to the playoffs in the second year and drew the series in England," he replied (3:15).

The former India opener opted not to choose one over the other, highlighting that both have fared well as leaders.

"He is also someone who is leading by example, leading from the front, who scores runs. A leader doesn't ask you to do what he says. A leader says do as I do. So you set the example and Shubman Gill does that job. I am not going to choose one. Shreyas Iyer is a phenomenal skipper, but Shubman Gill is not bad either," Chopra observed.

Shreyas Iyer has never captained India in any of the three formats. Apart from captaining India in the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, Shubman Gill has led them in five T20Is.