24-year-old Shubman Gill was, on Monday, announced as the new Gujarat Titans captain for the IPL 2024 season after Hardik Pandya was officially traded to the Mumbai Indians.
Hardik Pandya had led GT to the IPL 2022 title and runner-up in IPL 2023. But, the former GT captain then “expressed a desire to return to his original team Mumbai Indians“, said Vikram Solanki, the GT Director of Cricket.
GT had a couple of other options in Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan. But with both being overseas players and Shubman Gill being young and the potential future face of Indian cricket, it seemed a fair call from GT to put Gill at helm.
“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,” Shubman Gill said. “We have had two exceptional seasons and I keenly look forward to leading the team with our exciting brand of cricket.”
This will be Gill’s first chance to captain in the IPL, having made his IPL debut back in 2018 for KKR. Gill was the Organce Cap holder in IPL 2023 with 890 runs, which included 3 hundreds.
Shubman Gill has captained Indian domestic sides in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy previously.
This is how the fans reacted to Shubman Gill being appointed the new Gujarat Titans captain:
Vikram Solanki, the Titans director of cricket, said: “Shubman Gill has shown growth in stature and standing over the last two years at the highest level of the game. We’ve seen him mature not only as a batter but also as a leader in cricket. His contribution on the field has helped Gujarat Titans emerge as a formidable force, guiding the team through a successful campaign in 2022 and a strong run in 2023.
“His maturity and skill is evident in his on-field performance and we are extremely excited to embark on a new journey with a young leader like Shubman at the helm.”
