The Prince ascends to the throne! A little too quickly! Not so long ago Shubman Gill was the next big thing in Indian cricket. But on the back of an excellent 2023 with loads of runs, Shubman is the new face of Gujarat Titans after ex-captain Hardik Pandya moves back to Mumbai Indians. Gill will lead GT in IPL 2024. And with that, the 24-year-old is now in the spotlight to become the future India captain. How? Among all the captaincy candidates, Shubman is the designated starter for India across all formats and he has been under the spotlight to lead a team sooner rather than later.
“I am delighted and proud to assume the Captaincy of Gujarat Titans and thank the franchise for their trust in me to lead such a fine team. We have had two exceptional seasons and I keenly look forward to leading the team with our exciting brand of cricket,” Shubman Gill said in a statement.
What works for Shubman Gill?
While Shubman may not be captaining India in the next two years, he has the chance to widen the scope. At 24, he will be one of the youngest captains in IPL 2024. Apart from inputs from Hardik Pandya in the last two years, Shubman will have inputs from Kane Williams, Matthew Wade as well and Rashid Khan — all three with experience leading in international cricket.
To make things easier for him, Gujarat Titans is a stable team with the perfect mixture of experience and exuberance, making it easier to lead the team. Barring the Hardik factor, GT should still be able to compete for a Top 4 finish in IPL. And if GT can win the title in the next two runs, Shubman will be the next favourite.
From a seven-month injury layoff, Hardik Pandya returned to IPL and became India’s captain in T20Is and ODIs after leading GT to the IPL title in 2022.
Highlights of Shubman in 2023
- Leading run-scorer across all formats in international cricket with 2118 runs.
- Second highest run-scorer in one IPL edition with 890 runs in IPL 2023 including 3 centuries.
- Seven centuries in 2023 across all formats.
- Gujarat Titans captain at 24 years of age.
India captaincy next?
On the fast lane, Shubman Gill is on a rapid rise. While it does not guarantee an India captaincy role yet, in future, GT captaincy will help.
It’s all but certain that Rohit Sharma will not continue playing in T20Is, let alone lead. And with Rohit already 37, India need to find the next leader as soon as possible in Test and ODIs.
KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are two choices while Hardik Pandya is captain-elect in T20Is. Rishabh Pant is the other player who is waiting on the wings but at the moment, he is out injured with no timeline on his return. Ruturaj Gaikwad too has impressed leading India to Asian Games gold. But it was not a tournament of BCCI’s focus.
But while Hardik is not playing Tests, Iyer and Rahul have struggled to retain their spots in Team India across all formats. That’s where Shubman Gill gets the advantage.
And Hardik’s rise to India captaincy comes with a caveat. He is injury-prone as an all-rounder and will need workload management. That’s where Shubman can get advantage if he leads Gujarat Titans to success.
He is young, and has the runs to back his claim. What does not work for him yet is his lack of experience as a leader. At Gujarat Titans, he will have the experience before Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI senior selection committee considers him for any leadership role.
