For Shubman Gill, the start to the IPL 2025 has not been good. The former IPL champions went down by 11 runs in its first match against Punjab Kings on Tuesday despite chase a huge target of 244. Indian cricket team great Virender Sehwag was unhappy with the way Shubman Gill led the side in the first match against Punjab Kings. His main concern was the way he made his bowling changes, particularly Mohammed Siraj. He was taken off the attack despite conceding only 14 in the first two overs.
"I thought that Shubman Gill's captaincy wasn't up to the mark, he wasn't ready, he wasn't proactive. When Siraj was bowling well, he brought on Arshad Khan, who I think conceded 21 runs in the powerplay and that over changed the momentum," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
"If Siraj is bowling well with the new ball, there is no point holding him back for the death overs and you see he also got hit in the end. So that proactive was missing like while using a bowler."
Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill reflected on his team's narrow 11-run defeat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their opening game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad.
Gill acknowledged that Gujarat had their moments but failed to capitalize on key phases.
"We got our chances when we were bowling and batting. Too many runs we conceded in the back end of the innings...Those three overs in the middle, we scored around 18 runs. That, and our first three overs we didn't score many runs. That cost us the game," he said after the game.
Despite the loss, Gill found positives in his team's performance. "Apart from that, many positives for us today. Not easy for someone to come and deliver those yorkers for someone who is on the bench. It's always a good wicket to bat on here," he added.
Gujarat Titans will now look to bounce back in their upcoming matches, learning from their mistakes in the season opener.
Earlier, Shubman Gill said he believed that a successful captain needs to keep his batting separate from leadership as mixing the two is never in the best interest of the team.
Gill took over the mantle of Gujarat Titans from Hardik Pandya last season and his start was an inauspicious one with the team finishing a lowly eighth after playing back-to-back finals in 2022 and 2023.
"The more you keep the captaincy and batting separate, the better it is. In my experience, if I am going to bat, the best thing for me is, that I concentrate on batting. The decision I take as a batter, that is the best decision for me," Gill said at the pre-season media conference here on Wednesday.
"When we are fielding, at that time, or off the field, I get more involved in captaincy. The more I bat, as a batsman, the better it is for me," said Gill, who had scored a massive 890 runs during the 2023 season.
With agency inputs
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