Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, Gujarat Titans made a huge move as they sold Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians, and named Shubman Gill as their new captain. IPL 2024 will only be their third season, after finishing runners-up in their previous campaign, and winning the title before that. Meanwhile, Gill has been a mainstay in GT's playing XI since their IPL debut. He was drafted for ₹8 crore, and smacked 483 runs in IPL 2022 as they clinched the title in their inaugural year.
In the 2023 season, he took it a notch higher and hammered 890 runs to become the second-highest run-scorer ever in a single IPL season, and also cruised to the Orange Cap. In Qualifier 2 against MI, he got the season's highest individual score of 129 off 60 balls and the record of highest-ever score in an IPL playoffs match and second most centuries in an IPL season at 2. Previously, he became the fourth man to get back-to-back tons, 101 vs SRH and 104* vs RCB.
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Hailing the decision, Gill's GT teammate Sai Sudharsan made a stunning prediction. "Gill is a very smart cricketer. He will definitely be a very good captain. I used to relate with Gill a lot. I see him and learn in what ways I can get better as a batter. The way he carries himself, his body language, there are a lot of things to admire about Shubman Gill. At the same time, I can relate to a lot of things, especially in terms of getting better every day as a batter. We have a lot of conversations whenever we have time. They are very useful," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Hailing the decision, Gill's GT teammate Sai Sudharsan made a stunning prediction. "Gill is a very smart cricketer. He will definitely be a very good captain. I used to relate with Gill a lot. I see him and learn in what ways I can get better as a batter. The way he carries himself, his body language, there are a lot of things to admire about Shubman Gill. At the same time, I can relate to a lot of things, especially in terms of getting better every day as a batter. We have a lot of conversations whenever we have time. They are very useful," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Sudharsan was a crucial cog in Hardik's plans in IPL 2023, catching everyone's attention with his Impact Player role. In the final against CSK, which GT lost, Sudharshan got a knock of 96 in Ahmedabad.
Gill had a below-par 2023 World Cup campaign, mainly due to his bout of dengue at the start of the tournament, which saw him lose some muscle mass and he wasn't his usual self. He will be hoping to put in a good show in IPL 2024 as skipper, and it will also show if he can captain in the future.