Shubman Gill’s instant elevation to captain the Gujarat Titans, following Hardik Pandya’s trade to the Mumbai Indians for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has come as a surprise for many. The side boasts of a number of experienced players like New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan in its ranks, who have led their national teams.
But the appointment of Gill, with relatively very less leadership experience speaks volumes of how the franchise doesn’t hesitate to take bold decisions. While there is no doubt on Gill’s batting abilities, as a leader, he is yet to be tested in the big stage despite captaining the Punjab and India A sides in a handful of games.
Speaking about his new role for the first time, the 24-year-old said: “I think it’s gonna take, like, probably till the time we don’t play the first match. It’s not gonna quite sink in. It’s a great feeling.”
“We all know captainship comes with a lot of things, and commitment is one of them. Discipline is one of them. Hard work is one of them. Loyalty is one of them,” Gill told the Gujarat Titans’ social media account.
Gill has led Punjab in two T20 games and captained the India A side in six List A games. He also captained the team in four first-class matches, all of them in 2019.
The Titans’ opener has so far played under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan, Rohit Sharma and Hardik who have all tasted success in some format or the other.
“I think I’ve played under great leaders and I’ve learned a lot from them, I think those learnings that I have had from their experience playing under them is gonna help me a lot in this IPL,” Gill added.
Gill felt that he could learn a lot from the experienced campaigners in the 2022-title winning side.
“We have great leaders in our team, be it Kane or be it Rashid or be it Shami, or even David, or even Wriddhiman (Saha). So, I think it’s gonna be great,” he said.
Gill starred with the bat as Titans won the title in their inaugural season. He was also their highest run-getter in IPL 2023 with 890 runs in 17 innings, which included three centuries, as Titans finished runners-up against the Chennai Super Kings.