Shubman Gill will don a new hat at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Already an important member of the Gujarat Titans franchise, Shubman Gill has been named as the new captain of the former IPL champions. It is a major responsibility. South Africa great and former Royal Challengers Bangalore star AB de Villiers feels that while it would be exciting to see Shubman Gill lead GT, another veteran star could have been given the opportunity to lead the franchise for IPL 2024.
"Not that I doubt Shubman's skill or ability as a leader but the minute I saw Kane Williamson's name as a retained player (in GT), I thought there was a fantastic opportunity to give an experienced player who has done it before, player with a rock-solid role up the order, an opportunity to captain for you. Give Shubman Gill the opportunity, just to cement himself in all the formats in Indian cricket and just to have another good season at the IPL," De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
"But no, they decided to throw him in as captain. It may pay off; I am not saying it is wrong. I am saying that it was a great opportunity for Shubman just to learn a little bit and know that the plan is for him to be captain in 2025. Nonetheless, I am excited to watch him perform and lead from the front."
It will be Gill's maiden outing as captain of an IPL side, having begun his journey in the competition in 2018 with Kolkata Knight Riders before heading to GT in 2022.
"We all know captainship comes with a lot of things, and commitment is one of them. Discipline is one of them. Hard work is one of them. Loyalty is one of them," said Gill in a video posted by the franchise on social media.
"And, because, I think I've played under great leaders and I've learned a lot from them, I think those learnings that I have had from their experience playing under them is gonna help me a lot in this IPL." Gill added that there was no dearth of experienced players in Gujarat Titans, and he would get to learn a lot from leaders such as New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan.
"We have great leaders in our team, be it Kane (Williamson) or be it Rashid (Khan) or be it (Mohammed) Shami, or even David (Miller), or even Wriddhi (Saha). So, I think it's gonna be great.
"And obviously, there are gonna be a lot of learnings along the way, which would be my experience as a captain. And I see a lot of people making great memories," he added.
As far as playing the leadership role is concerned, Gill was the India U-19 vice-captain during the 2018 World Cup. He was also named skipper of India Blue during the 2019-20 Duleep Trophy, the India C captain in the Deodhar Trophy the same season, and the India-A leader during the New Zealand tour later in 2019.
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