Rohit Sharma is set to continue as India's ODI captain; this was confirmed when the BCCI announced he will sit in as captain on the press conference scheduled for January 18, when the squads for the Champions Trophy and the ODIs against England will be announced. The three ODIs against England will be India's last in the format before they begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
Rohit's future came into sharp focus after he had stood down from India's XI in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this month. He, however, clarified that the decision shouldn't be misconstrued as a retirement.
Rohit, 37, has been struggling for form and during the home series against New Zealand, he also admitted to captaincy errors, which contributed to India's 3-0 whitewash. In six Test innings against New Zealand at home, Rohit managed only 91 runs at an average of 15.16 and then in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his average slumped further to 6.20 in five innings.
In a bid to rediscover his form, Rohit had linked up with the Mumbai squad for training sessions in the lead-up to the start of the second phase of the Ranji Trophy.
Having ended his T20I career by winning the T20 World Cup title in Barbados last year, Rohit now has the chance to lead India to an ODI world title at the Champions Trophy. India will play all their three league games in Dubai, which will also stage one of the semi-finals and possibly the final too, if India get there.
India have played just six ODIs since November 19, 2023, when they lost to Australia in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad.