From IPL 2024 to IPL 2025: What changed in Shubman Gill's captaincy? Gavaskar opines

In just his second year as the captain of Gujarat Titans, the young Shubman Gill has led the team into the IPL 2025 playoffs. The 25-year-old earned the leading position last season when Hardik Pandya joined Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024. While GT was left behind in IPL 2024 as Gill transitioned into his new role, the ongoing season has witnessed the rise of the youngster as a captain. The youngster has led the Titans from the front as the team now gears up to face Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 playoffs. Meanwhile, former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has weighed in on Gill's stint as the captain of the IPL 2022 champions.

Sunil Gavaskar highlights the transformation of Shubman Gill as the GT captain ahead of IPL 2025 Eliminator

Shubman Gill was handed the GT captaincy in IPL 2024 as the side coped with the exit of their trophy-winning skipper, Hardik Pandya. In IPL 2024, the Titans, led by Gill, could manage only 5 wins at the group stage, finishing eighth on the points table. However, in his second season as skipper, the opener has led his team to their third playoff in the team's four-year run in the IPL. The Titans, under Gill, observed a near-perfect run at the group stage in the ongoing season. A double setback towards the rear end, however, landed GT in the Eliminator as they slipped from the Top 2 spots on the points table.

Nonetheless, the team still has a chance to enter the IPL 2025 final, if GT manage to beat MI in the IPL 2025 Eliminator and subsequently PBKS in Qualifier 2. GT observed 9 wins in 12 matches at the group stage as the team kept the top spot to themselves almost throughout the run ahead of the playoffs. Gill, meanwhile, accounted for most of the team’s runs along with Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler.

The opening pair of Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill have scored 909 runs in the season so far at an average of over 69. The opening pair have mounted over a 100-run partnership thrice in IPL 2025, along with a 205-run stand against DC in the match that the Titans won by 10 wickets. Together, Sudharsan and Gill have scored over 50% of the runs for GT in the season. Clearly, the responsibility of leading the team has not fazed Gill's batting form. The 25-year-old, meanwhile, was recently named the Indian Test captain ahead of the India vs England Test series.

Now, as GT gears up for the Eliminator against MI in Mullanpur, Gavaskar has weighed in on the transformation of Gill as the captain. The former Indian captain expressed that the youngster has learnt from his last season as the GT captain. Pointing out the maturity in his temperament, Gavaskar highlighted how Gill provided the chance for Sai Sudharsan to express himself in IPL 2025, taking the role of a second fiddle himself. Moreover, Gavaskar also noted that the GT captain keeps his emotions in control on the field, rarely losing his cool on dropped catches or misfields.

"What he's learned from last year. Remember last year, he was a captain and they didn't do too well. So, certainly I think what he's learned from the last year, we can see over here with the way he's been leading the team with Sai Sudarshan. When Sai Sudarshan is going well, he's quite happy to knock the singles and give him more of the strike," said Gavaskar.

"And then also in the field, when you see a catch being dropped, there's a misfield, he doesn't get annoyed. He controls his emotions, which is so important because in a high-pressure game like this, you don't want to make the fielder even more nervous. He knows he's not done the right thing, and basically the way he goes and you know encourages and pats his team on the back, that's the kind of leader that he's been showing that he's with them all through," he added.