Veteran New Zealand batter Kane Williamson has backed Shubman Gill to find success as captain of Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, claiming that the young India batter is a fine thinker of the game. However, Gill will lead an IPL team for the first time in his career as the 2022 champions entrusted him with the big responsibility after Hardik Pandya left.
However, at 24, Shubman Gill is all set to become one of the youngest captains to lead an IPL franchise when Gujarat Titans open their campaign against Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24 as well. All eyes will be on the battle between Gill and Hardik Pandya, who will be leading Mumbai Indians after having taken over the captaincy reins from Rohit Sharma as well.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans handed over the captaincy to Shubman Gill even if they had the likes of Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan. While Williamson led SunRisers Hyderabad to the final in 2018, Rashid Khan was the deputy of the Titans in their last two seasons as well.
“Obviously, a few changes in the camp. It’s a challenge for every team, there are adjustments to make. It is really an exciting opportunity for Shubman, a world-class player and a great thinker of the game as well. As a team, we are focusing on what’s in front of us in the roles that we have, and it is a fantastic support staff,” Williamson told news agency PTI. “They are quite clear in how they want to do things. And I am sure they will be a great support to Shubman and the direction of the team.”
Meanwhile, Ashish Nehra has already started work, overseeing the pre-season training camp in Ahmedabad. Gill will also be high on confidence after having a good season in India’s 4-1 win over England in a recently concluded Test series. Gill won the Orange Cap in IPL 2023, scoring 890 runs, including 3 tons, in 17 matches and he will be looking forward to continuing his good run in the T20 league as well.
However, Gujarat Titans will try to reach the playoffs for the third successive year.
GUJARAT TITANS SQUAD FOR IPL 2024
Wicketkeepers: Mathew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Robin Minz
Batters: Shubman Gill, David Miller (SA), Abhinav Manohar, Kane Williamson, Sai Sudharsan
All-rounders: Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Darshan Nalkande, Shahrukh Khan
Bowlers: Umesh Yadav, Josh Little (IRE), R. Sai Kishore, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier.
