Shubman Gill joins Gujarat Titans squad ahead of IPL 2024
Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill joined the squad in Ahmedabad on Monday, March 18, ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The reigning Orange Cap holder was appointed as skipper of the franchise following Hardik Pandya's departure to the Mumbai Indians (MI) during the off-season.
Gill was part of the Indian squad which registered a 4-1 Test series win over England on home soil. The youngster had a landmark series after a difficult start to his stint as a No.3 batter and ended up scoring 452 runs in nine innings. Gill finished second on the run-scoring charts, only behind Yashavi Jaiswal.
He has been heavily among the runs since his switch to the Gujarat Titans from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2022 IPL season. Gill amassed 890 runs in 17 innings, including three centuries in the 2023 campaign as GT finished as runners-up.
The GT coaching staff and the players will be eagerly looking forward to inputs from their new skipper after having joined the setup.
Have a look at his arrival right here:
GT will kick-start their IPL 2024 campaign with a home encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, March 24.
"If he grows as a person, then he will definitely be a better captain going forward" - GT head coach Ashish Nehra on Shubman Gill
GT head coach Ashish Nehra has played a huge role in the franchise's early success, and one of the primary reasons was his chemistry with former skipper Hardik Pandya.
The franchise will now have to start from scratch to establish a dynamic as Gill prepares for his first major challenge as captain.
"We as a franchise, as a support staff, are really excited to help him grow as a person more than as a captain. If he grows as a person, then he will definitely be a better captain going forward," Nehra said in a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo.
Gill does have able and experienced leadership candidates like Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan for guidance, and it will be up to him to maximize the resources at hand to maintain the high standards that GT have set in such a short time.