Shubman Gill highlighted the need to bat better in the powerplay and banks on his side’s bowling strength.
Gujarat Titans finished eighth in 2024 under Shubman Gill’s maiden captaincy, and the player is determined to use what he has learned in the ongoing season.
Ahead of Gujarat Titans’ first game against Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, the captain stated, Last year was undoubtedly a learning curve for me. Captaincy is such a thing; the more you do it, the more you discover about yourself and the game. There were some things I learned and experienced last year that I believe would be quite useful for me this year.
He emphasized the importance of better understanding his new teammates, saying, “It’s like an overall growth that I’d like to have within myself as a captain.” It may be anything, including communicating with players off the pitch. Having one-on-one talks with them in which they open up to you and tell you what areas they want to develop, or what areas I want them to be able to improve to help my team.”
The 25-year-old skipper also highlighted the need to bat better in the powerplay. GT was the slowest scoring team with a run rate of 7.72 in the powerplay in the last season. A crucial factor for that progress will be his partnership with his new opening partner, Jos Buttler.
“Honestly, yes, we didn’t [bat well] in the powerplay, we weren’t the best team in the tournament last year, but before that, we had some good opening partnerships with me and Sai [Sudharsan]. Having said that, Wriddhi bhai [Wriddhiman Saha] got injured in between.
“[Mohammed] Shami bhai got injured. It’s not easy to have so many different combinations when your players are getting injured constantly. Leading up to that obviously someone like Hardik [Pandya] bhai went to MI, so I think in an overall sense it was a bit tough for us to find the perfect combination as a team.”
Gujarat Titans gathered a solid bowling group at the mega auction in November, signing Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, and Washington Sundar to complement Rashid Khan.
“This year, we have an amazing bunch. I believe we have covered all of the bases: we have terrific batting depth and some excellent bowlers, particularly fast bowlers. The IPL is a tournament where everyone focuses on scoring 250-260-270, but it is the bowlers who win the games.
“The bowlers will help you avoid conceding so many runs. It doesn’t matter how many runs you score; if you can concede them, it makes no difference how many runs you score. Our philosophy is to have a very strong and solid bowling side.
“We hope to be able to play the same bowling attack for all 14 games, but if not, we have a decent backup plan. I believe we’ve got Ishi [Ishant Sharma] bhai. I do not need to say much about him. He has been playing in the IPL since its beginning and has gained valuable experience, and I believe we have some really good young bowlers in our team as well.”
Read more: Sunrisers Hyderabad Thrash Rajasthan Royals by 44 Runs in Their First Game of IPL 2025
