"The domination we saw from Virat Kohli in 2016, this was that kind of a season" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill's role in GT's excellent IPL 2023
Aakash Chopra has picked Shubman Gill's dominant performances with the bat as one of the primary reasons behind the Gujarat Titans' (GT) excellent run in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).
Gill amassed 890 runs in 17 innings at an excellent average of 59.33 and an equally impressive strike rate of 157.80 to bag the Orange Cap. He was just 83 short of Virat Kohli's record 973-run aggregate from the 2016 edition of the prestigious league.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra delved into the factors behind the Titans' consistent run in IPL 2023. Regarding Gill, he said:
"Gill is absolutely thrilling. The last season was good but this was a wow season. He used to be called prince earlier, but he is no longer a prince, this was a proper king-type season. The domination we saw from Virat Kohli in 2016, this was that kind of a season."
The former Indian batter was particularly impressed by the Gujarat Titans opener's century in Qualifier 2 against the Mumbai Indians.
"He just kept growing. In fact, that innings against Mumbai, it was like a man possessed, that he cannot do anything wrong now. He was telling people where to bowl. The Narendra Modi Stadium is a huge stadium and the guy hit sixes there," Chopra elaborated.
Gill smashed 129 runs off 60 balls with the help of seven fours and 10 sixes in that knockout clash. His knock helped GT set a mammoth 234-run target for MI, who lost the game by 62 runs as Gujarat qualified for the final.
"You don't get a player like him and you let him go" - Aakash Chopra questions KKR for releasing Shubman Gill
![Shubman Gill was with KKR for four seasons. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/04/be8c2-16175511491971-800.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra also questioned the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for releasing Shubman Gill ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.
"Kolkata let him go. In the options they had there, they retained Venkatesh Iyer. Nothing against Venkatesh Iyer, but it is very important at which stage you pick a player and when you leave him. Both things define how your future and present will be. You don't get a player like him and you let him go," Chopra said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by praising the Gujarat Titans for acquiring Gill before the auction.
"Gujarat convinced him not to go to the auction. If he had gone to the auction, if Ishan Kishan is worth 15.25 crores, would Shubman Gill not have been very expensive, but they asked him to come to them," Chopra added.
The Titans bought Gill for ₹8 crore as part of their draft picks ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. The move yielded them great dividends as the stylish opener has excelled for the franchise in the last two seasons of the IPL.