In a desperate search for their first win of the season, the Gujarat Titans will take on the unbeaten Delhi Capitals in the IPL on Wednesday.
Skipper Shubman Gill will return after missing the previous game due to a muscle spasm, which the Titans went on to lose against the Rajasthan Royals.
Now, can Gill inspire an upturn in Titans’ fortunes?
Gujarat’s loyal fans will expect Gill to lead from the front.
At his peak, Gill makes batting look ridiculously easy. But it’s not going to be easy for him now to lead as well as score heavily at the top order.
Snubbed by selectors for the 2026 T20 World Cup, Gill is going through a lean phase with the bat.
Since November 14 last year, Gill has recorded just two half-centuries across formats, hardly the returns you would expect from a player as talented as him.
Indian cricket, under the constant glare of the public and media, can be an unforgiving place when things are not going well.
Across the country, Gill smiles at you from the billboards, having steadily become the heir apparent to Virat Kohli.
After being named the Indian Test captain, Gill was sublime last season in the England Test series, scoring 754 runs in five matches.
He was hailed as the next superstar when India stunned England in the last Test to share the honours, and the selectors even brought him back into the T20 team.
But nothing has gone right since then, his form betraying him cruelly before he lost his place in the World Cup team.
India went on to clinch the World Cup on home soil with Sanju Samson, the player who replaced him in the squad, earning himself a place in Indian cricketing folklore with three back-to-back match-winning knocks.
Amid the euphoria over India’s triumph, it was not hard to imagine Gill experiencing a bittersweet moment.
Now the IPL offers him a shot at redemption. And the Titans will be hoping to benefit from his hunger to prove to the critics that he remains one of the finest batters across formats.
Source: Khaleej Times