Shubman Gill wants to take onus of Gujarat Titans’ (GT) batting inside the powerplay in IPL 2025 by playing “in a way that allows us to maximise” the first six overs.
In IPL 2024, GT had the lowest run rate (7.72) in the first six overs, and Gill struck at 131.08 in the phase. Only Sai Sudharsan (115.49) batted slower among those with at least 150 runs in the powerplay last year. After two seasons where they made the final, GT finished eighth in IPL 2024, which was Gill’s first season as captain. Now he wants to set the tone early in his second season at the helm.
“The plan is to score as many runs as possible, and lose as little wickets as possible,” Gill said at GT’s pre-season presser on Wednesday. “We did not do well in the powerplay or after that last season. We couldn’t play the way we wanted to in the powerplay and even after that, and that shows in the fact that we couldn’t qualify [for the playoffs].
“As a batsman, it is my responsibility to bat in a way that allows us to maximise the powerplay. That is what I strive for, and hopefully, this time we rectify the errors from last season.”
IPL 2024 was a high-scoring season that saw eight scores of 250 or more. But Gill does not want his team to preempt a similar season and aim for a higher total every single time.
“I don’t think as a team we’re trying to chase 300 as a total. That’s not what our aim is,” he said. “We will assess what the condition is and what the situation is, and we want to play that kind of cricket. If the wicket or the situation allows us to make 240, 250, [or] 260 runs, yeah, we are not saying no to that, but there might be a situation where 150, [or] 160 would be an ideal total on a wicket.
“Hence, if I feel as a team if you are only looking to play one way, then you’re not adapting, and the hallmark of a great team is that it adapts the best to the suitable conditions and the challenges that are thrown at them.”
Last IPL was Gill’s first real shot at captaincy at the senior level. He had led Punjab on only two occasions before. But since then, he has captained India on the tour of Zimbabwe last July, and was elevated to be Rohit Sharma’s deputy for the tour of Sri Lanka as well as for the Champions Trophy 2025. This season will be about his growth as a leader.
“I’ve had more experience captaining Gujarat [Titans] than the Indian cricket team for sure,” he said, “And the experience that I get here from Ashu [Ashish Nehra, head coach] paaji or Vikram [Solanki, director of cricket] paaji is immensely pleasurable for me. It was my first year as captain, so there were a lot of things I could learn from. The challenging thing is you learn new things about a player or even about yourself. There were things I needed to work on, if I want to be a good captain.
“I’ve played under various captains, and each captain has a different quality, and there are some qualities that resonate with you as a person, and those are the kind of qualities that you tend to take forward, and that is what I’ll try to do.”
Gill scored close to 900 runs in IPL 2023, and started on a promising note last season. He scored 255 runs at a strike rate of 151.78 in his first six matches of IPL 2024 but his form tapered off since and he ended up with 426 runs at 147.40. Ahead of the new season, Gill was clear on compartmentalising batting from captaincy.
“The more we keep batting and captaincy separate, the better it is,” he said. “In my experience, it is good if I don’t mix it. When I go out to bat, the best thing for me is to play as a batter and take decisions accordingly. Captaincy role comes after I am dismissed, or when we are fielding or [are] off the field. When I am batting, I focus only on batting.”
“If you look at our record over the past three years, we are the team with the most wins and the highest percentage of wins,” Gill said. “If we continue to do that, it’s going to be another great season for us. And just because it’s a new season, I don’t think we have to do anything different.
“I think for the past three years we have played the most consistent cricket. I don’t think we need to change anything. We’ll continue to keep playing the cricket that we have been playing over the past three years.”
