Shubman Gill has become an undeniable mainstay in not just the Indian cricket scene, but on the international level as well with his dominant 2023 campaign as an opener.
Gill has notched up one consistent performance after the other through the year and made his mark by becoming India’s highest run-getter in this calendar year so far. And it is this rise to prominence along with his maturity that has been on display which garnered the highest of praised from Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra.
Nehra said the franchise believes in the maturity and leadership qualities of Gill, which was why the franchise opted for Gill to take over the captaincy role after the departure of 2022 IPL trophy-winning skipper Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians in a blockbuster trade.
“We have seen how Shubman Gill has been playing for three-four years and how he has shaped up. He is 24-25 but he has a good head on his shoulders… We believe in him, there’s no doubt about it and that’s why we have made him the captain.
“I am not someone who will always go by results… When it comes to captaincy, you must see different things. We are very confident that Shubman Gill is the right guy (to lead Gujarat),” said Nehra to reporters after the iconic IPL 2024 Auction in Dubai.
Yet another weapon GT were aiming to acquire in the 2024 auction was the services of a specialist pacer. This was the major reason behing their heated pursuit for Australian Mitchell Starc, who finally ended up being acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a record-breaking sum of Rs 24.75 crore.
This did not dishearten the Titans though, as they smartly went in to pick up left-arm pacer and Starc’s Australian counterpart, left-arm pace sensation Spencer Johnson.
“There is nothing like being over priced in the IPL. Everybody knows what Starc can do. He is a proven player. We needed a fast bowler and when you have funds, every team will have different strategies. But good luck to KKR and we were satisfied with our bowler.
“Spencer Johnson went for INR 10 crore and it’s not something which hasn’t previously happened in the IPL. Every team has an option of ‘if not this, then that’, and it goes on. At times, you may have five options, but even that you won’t get between the ten teams. I think we have covered all bases and are pretty much very happy,” added Nehra.
Yet another blockbuster signing that the Titans made was the acquisition of hard-hitting middle-order batter Shahrukh Khan from Tamil Nadu for a whopping Rs 7.4 crore.
Despite all the rumours of Khan being brought in as a viable replacement for the now-traded Hardik Pandya, Nehra insisted that to not be the case.
“I don’t think so you can find a replacement for someone like Hardik Pandya that easily. Here, you are talking about all-rounder and Shahrukh Khan is a pure batsman. We needed one more batsman for backup.
“Again, we bought Shahrukh Khan because we trusted him, we believed in him and we have seen what he could do. There are 10 teams and you can’t get what you exactly want or what is your first choice,” said Nehra.
(with inputs from agencies)
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