Shubman Gill as new Gujarat Titans captain was almost confirmed when Hardik Pandya left: Aakash Chopra

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckons Shubman Gill was almost confirmed as Gujarat Titans’ new captain when Hardik Pandya decided to move back to Mumbai Indians. Gill was named as GT’s new captain and he will look to get the job done for the franchise.

Gill, 24, will become one of the youngest captains in IPL history and he will look to lead from the front. Pandya, on the other hand, had led Gujarat Titans to glory in IPL 2022 and then also took the franchise to the final in the previous season.

Meanwhile, Gill scored 890 runs in 17 matches of IPL 2023 for Gujarat Titans at an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80. Thus, he played a key role in the team’s success and finished as the highest run-getter of the season.

“Shubman Gill is the new Gujarat Titans captain. A lot of things have happened to him at 23 years of age, which is fascinating and fantastic. It was almost confirmed that Shubman would become the captain as soon as Hardik left,” said Chopra on his YouTube Channel.

The renowned commentator said Kane Williamson wouldn’t have been the ideal choice for a leader as the New Zealand veteran had dropped himself while leading Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past.

“There was a school of thought about whether Kane Williamson should be made the captain. You have an example of Hyderabad already. Kane is such a good person, he drops himself if he is not doing well,” said Chopra.

It will be interesting to note how young Shubman Gill will handle captaincy pressure in the IPL. The youngster will look to lead with aplomb and deliver the goods for the franchise in the next season.

Gujarat Titans Retained Players

David Miller, Shubman Gill (c), Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma.

Gujarat Titans Released Players

Yash Dayal, K.S. Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka